Peru halts mail to Cuba as aviation fuel shortage disrupts flights

Peru has stopped taking mail bound for Cuba, a blunt sign that the island’s Jet A-1 shortage is now breaking postal routes as well as flight schedules. The suspension by Serpost hits families waiting on parcels from abroad, small informal importers and diaspora senders who depend on commercial flights to move letters and packages into the country.

Serpost said the halt was temporary, but it gave no date for service to restart and only promised to keep customers informed. That matters because international mail to Cuba leans heavily on commercial airline capacity. When those flights are canceled or grounded, the postal system does not just slow down, it seizes up.

The Peruvian decision was tied to the same aviation notice regime that has been hanging over Cuba since February 10, 2026, when nine airports, including Havana and Varadero, were identified as lacking Jet A-1 fuel. That shortage has forced airlines to cut flights, and more than 1,700 cancellations have already been cited as evidence of how deep the breakdown has become.

Behind the fuel crisis is a longer chain of pressure. Cuba lost key oil supply lines as Venezuelan deliveries were interrupted, U.S. sanctions tightened the squeeze, and shipments from Mexico’s Pemex came to an end. The result is a country left with only about 40,000 barrels a day for a system that needs roughly 110,000. That gap has reached far beyond airport aprons and into ordinary commerce.

The impact now extends to the most basic cross-border routines. A package from Lima, a letter from a relative abroad, or a small shipment moving through the informal economy all depends on the same unstable mix of aviation fuel and flight capacity. Once that link weakens, postal service becomes another casualty of the crisis.

The broader economic picture is just as stark. Cuba’s economy, already in a long decline since 2019, is projected to contract another 7.2% in 2026. Peru’s move shows how the fuel shortage is no longer only a domestic transport problem. It is closing off regional commerce one flight, one parcel and one family shipment at a time.