Cuba on the brink as Trump turns up the pressure: ‘There is going to be a real blockade’

Country is already suffering acute fuel shortage; experts say complete cutoff will be catastrophic' to its infrastructure

It's just gone midday on Linea, one of the main roads through Havana's Vedado neighbourhood, and Javier Pena and Ysil Ribas have been waiting since 6am outside a petrol station. They're passing the time fixing a leak on Ribas's 1955 gold and white Mercury.

A tanker has pulled up on the forecourt in front of them, and so the queue behind is growing fast. Although this station only takes US dollars, at a cost far out of reach of most Cubans, Pena says it's their only choice. There is no gas in the national pesos," he says, shrugging.