Cuban cigar festival postponed as island faces fuel crisis
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Cuban cigar festival postponed as island faces fuel crisis
James Powel, USA TODAYFebruary 16, 2026 at 6:39 AM
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The Habanos Festival, the annual cigar fair held in Havana, Cuba, has been postponed as the island nation faces a fuel crisis that has diverted travel to the country, the festival's organizers announced Feb. 14.
The 26th edition of the festival was to be held in the last week of February, but Habanos S.A., the joint venture between the state-owned Cubatabaco and tobacco giant Altadis that holds a global monopoly on Cuban cigars, said that the postponement aimed to "preserve its high standard of quality" for the festival.
"The postponement of (the festival's) celebration is a measure aimed at protecting this experience and guaranteeing its excellence," the organizers said.
Habanos S.A. did not provide a reschedule date for the festival, saying it would announce a new date "in a timely manner."
Cubatabaco said in the announcement that the postponement was caused by "the complex economic situation that the nation is facing, as a result of the intensification of the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the Government of the United States against Cuba."
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel attends the opening of the XXIII Habanos Festival in Havana, Cuba, February 27, 2023.
The Trump administration declared Cuba "an unusual and extraordinary threat" to U.S. national security and cut off the country from Venezuelan oil in the aftermath of the seizure of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The administration has threatened to impose tariffs on other suppliers, like Mexico, if they continue to ship fuel to the island.
President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social Jan. 11 that Cuba should "make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE." Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel denounced Trump on social media, saying that "those who turn everything into a business, even human lives, have no moral authority to criticize Cuba for anything, absolutely anything."
Cuba warned international airlines that jet fuel would no longer be available on the island after Feb. 10 and three Canadian airlines suspended flights to the country Feb. 9. The country detailed its plans to navigate the deepening crisis on Feb. 6, including protecting essential services and rationing fuel, as the government dug in its heels in defiance of a U.S. effort to cut off oil supplies.
What is the Habanos Festival?
The Habanos Festival is a five-day event that draws cigar aficionados and industry representatives from around the world.
The festival includes a gala dinner, visits to a tobacco farm and cigar factory, a trade show and an auction of highly sought-after cigars. In 2025, the auction raised $18 million, according to the . The main celebration in this year's edition would have been the 60th anniversary of the Cohiba brand, according to the magazine Cigar Aficionado.
"This is, is not just a national source of revenue. This is a source of pride. This is a source of connection with the outside world in a nation that has very limited foreign access," said Aaron Sigmond, the magazine's luxury industry writer, publisher and editor. He has authored multiple books on cigars, including the most recent "Cigars: A Biography."
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Sigmond compared the cultural standing of the festival in the cigar world to major award ceremonies, including the BAFTA and Academy Awards, and said the cancellation will have a large impact on the country.
"It's an all-encompassing, devastating blow to the government, for its need for hard currency (and) for the individual people there, the citizens of Cuba, who rely on hard currency, tips, gratuities, goods," Sigmond told USA TODAY.
Sigmond added that regular attendees of the festival would bring medical supplies and clothing into the country "because they've made friends with some of the Cubans over the years." He said that the fallout of the postponement will largely fall on "the common man" in the country.
"The people who could not leave Cuba, or did not want to leave Cuba, which is fair and fine, those are the people who are suffering the most," Sigmond said. "They're being punished for things that are mostly out of their control."
The festival was previously cancelled in 2021 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Contributing: Kate Perez, USA TODAY; Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2026 Habanos Festival postponed as Cuba faces fuel crisis
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