Fuel shortages and lack of maintenance have taken a toll on public transportation in Cuba, which registered a decline in passengers of nearly 20% in 2023 in comparison to 2022. A drastic drop the Cuban regime promptly blames on U.S. sanctions. However, transportation for cash-carrying foreign tourists, who stay in state-owned resorts and enjoy lavish buffets and air-conditioned tour buses, has spiked by over 60% in the same time period. While Cubans take the brunt of the corruption and mismanagement of the communist Castro dictatorship, things only get better for foreign tourists. This is socialism in action.

Via Diario de Cuba (my translation):

Government says U.S. embargo is affecting public transportation in Cuba, but tourist transportation grew by 62.1%

The number of passengers on public buses in Cuba fell by 17.6% in 2023 compared to the previous year, while the number of travelers on state-owned tourist transport surged by 62.1%, according to official figures released this Thursday by the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI).

Cuban Minister of Transportation, Eduardo Rodríguez, acknowledged this Thursday that the state-run transportation sector is going through one of its “worst moments in recent years” and the country lacks the necessary income and fuel to stabilize it. Public passenger service in Cuba currently transports less than 50% of the travelers it did five years ago, he added...