Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Thursday that his government would roll out a multi-sector contingency plan in the next week to confront fuel shortages as U.S. pressure grows to block the supply of oil to the Caribbean island nation.

“(The U.S. blockade) affects public transportation, hospitals, schools, the economy and tourism,” Diaz-Canel said in a televised press conference. “How do we till our soil? How do we move around? How do we keep our kids in classes without fuel?”

“We are going to take measures that, while not permanent, will require effort. What else are we to do? Are we going to give up? There is so much to defend.”

—

(Reporting by Dave Sherwood and Nelson Acosta, Editing by Franklin Paul)