‘A hurricane is coming’: Havana prepares people for war as US shuts off Cuba’s oil valve

Havana, Cuba – As tensions between the US and Cuba rise to the highest levels since the Cuban Missile Crisis, the mood was grim at a recent staff meeting at the US Embassy in Havana.

“If you don’t have your bag packed yet, then pack your bag,” US Charge d’Affaires Mike Hammer said, according to a person present at the meeting.

“The Cubans have complained for years about ‘the blockade’,” Hammer told the assembled American diplomats and local staff, referring to the Cuban government’s term for the more than six-decade US economic embargo on Cuba.

“But now there is going to be a real blockade,” Hammer continued. “Nothing is getting in. No more oil is coming.”

Contacted by CNN about the diplomat’s ominous words, a State Department spokesperson said they do not comment on internal meetings.

While there is no sign of any drawdown of US diplomats from Havana, the stark warning came just weeks after a US raid in Caracas killed 32 Cuban military and intelligence officials protecting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro – the most lethal confrontation between US and Cuban forces since the end of the Cold War.