Cuba Under Siege Battles U.S. Oil Blockade 

President Donald Trump on January 29 imposed import tariffs on any country providing Cuba with oil. The false claim that Cuba threatened terrorism against the United States served as pretext.  The U.S. Supreme Court on February 20 ruled that President Trump lacked constitutional authority for imposing tariffs. Now tariffs continue under different legal authorization.

The oil blockade will likely remain for a while. It constitutes for Cuba siege with deadly potential, as in a state of war. On display is the U.S government’s propensity, evident since the introduction of the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, to regard Cuba as a special case. Meanwhile, Cuba, and Venezuela with its oil, were the first targets of the refurbished Monroe Doctrine showing up in the revised National Security Strategy, released in November 2025.

With this blockade, no oil is going to enter Cuba. Venezuela, already heavily sanctioned by the U.S. government, lost control of its oil sales after being hit by a U.S. military attack on January 3.  Mexico in 2025 provided Cuba with 44% of its crude oil imports and that year was Cuba’s top supplier of oil.

Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum on February 10 indicated that the country’s PEMEX oil company would not be sending oil to Cuba. Mexico is captive to the United States as regards oil. According to analyst Mateo Crossa, “Mexico imports 70 percent of the natural gas it consumes, 96 percent of which is supplied by the United States, revealing the country’s complete dependency.”

Russia had been a minor supplier of oil to Cuba with its last major shipment arriving in February 2025. Russia’s government announced on February 12 that it would “supply crude oil and petroleum products to Cuba in the near future as humanitarian aid.” A recent reportclaims that a Hong Kong-flagged tanker with Russian oil aboard will be arriving in Cuba in early March.

But a Moscow-based U.S. reporter more recently stated that Russian officials informed the visiting Cuban chancellor Bruno Rodríguez that Cuba would not be receiving Russian oil. Meanwhile Cuba is in the throes of worsening humanitarian crisis.

Catastrophe at hand

Alejandra Garcia writes of “long lines to access fuel, blackouts, hospitals without electricity, … families who travel kilometers (on foot, by bicycle, or on a cart) to obtain the most basic necessities … [B]uses have stopped running due to a lack of fuel.” He reports that at one hospital “a team of doctors had to operate on a pregnant woman using the light from their cell phones. The power outage put essential equipment out of service, including surgical lamps, anesthesia machines, and neonatal resuscitation bassinets.”

According to another report, “Since January 2026, the situation has begun worsening. Irrigation work is failing to operate, as the electricity that powered irrigation pumps is unavailable. A number of cooperatives are having electricity supply only for four hours daily, … [C]ooperatives are being compelled to keep more than half their crop lands uncultivated. Seeds, even of poor quality, and chemical fertilizer are not available … [F]armers are being compelled … to use firewood and charcoal to cook their food.”

Analyst Roxana Elizabeth Springer reports that, “The effects of the unprecedented energy blockade … are now visible on the streets, with a significant decrease in private vehicle traffic and urban transport, while several international airlines have canceled their flights due to the impossibility of refueling. [There are] power cuts that often exceed 20 hours a day in several regions of the country.

“Productive sectors such as agriculture, industry, and services, already battered for several years, are forced to halt or reduce operations due to a lack of electricity and hydrocarbons, which fuels inflation, shortages, and social unrest.”

Pain from the oil blockade adds to the wound of 65 years of economic blockade. Monetary figures reflect grief and suffering. The total of Cuba’s losses over the years, according to Cuban calculations, comes to $171 billion, which with inflation is $2.10 trillion. From March 2024 to February 2025, the U.S. blockade caused $7.5 billion in losses – a 49 percent increase over the previous year.

Cuba responds

At a press conference on February 6, President Miguel Diez Canal outlined emergency plans developed by the Communist Party’s Political Bureau, the National Defense Council, and the Council of Ministers. On that day, the heads of various ministries appeared on national television to explain changes on the way to the Cuban people.

Energy and fuel – Petroleum-based fuel will go preferentially to essential public services and “indispensable economic activities.” Generation of electricity will depend entirely on Cuba’s own crude oil and natural gas, plus renewable energy sources. Gasoline sales will be adjusted according to availability. Some 20,000 households will receive their own photo-voltaic units. Economic incentives will be offered for developing renewable energy sources. Solar-voltaic parks are an investment priority.

Healthcare – “Basic health services” are prioritized, especially emergency care, maternal and child health, and cancer treatment programs. “Medibus service” will continue in order to preserve access to care.  Public Health Minister José Ángel Portal Miranda mentioned staff assignments being adjusted, fewer non-urgent surgeries, reduced hospital stays, fewer transfers to higher-level care, a strengthened family doctor system, diagnostic tests reserved mostly for urgent cases, and use of tele-medicine.

Food production – Provinces and municipalities have new responsibilities. Food production will be diverse. There was reference to urban and family gardens, animal traction, and irrigation powered by renewable energy sources.

Other priorities – Development of Cuba’s own resources is one consideration. Others are: activities that generate “currency necessary for economic and social development,” protection of water sources and water quality, industrial production that attracts foreign currency, preparation for defense and internal security, and ports and airports remaining open to accept shipments of fuel, food and medical supplies.

Employment – Travel modifications are planned along with provisions for working at a distance or at home, virtually. State and non-state administrative activities will take place four days per week, not five.

Miscellaneous – New limitations apply to cultural programming and sports. But, “after exhaustive analysis, [it was determined] that the National Baseball series will continue, because we are now in the semifinal.”   Education changes include: less than full-week schedules, assignment of teachers based on proximity to schools, and consolidation of school sessions.

International solidarity.

Left political parties, organizations of Cubans living abroad, the World Federation of Trade Unions, and other groups and alliances have issued solidarity statements. Some 200 high-profile entertainment figures, academicians, and activists in the United States, including 20New York City Council members, endorsed a “Call to Conscience – Let Cuba Live.” Forty-five “Scholars in Solidarity with Cuba” signed a statement opposing the U.S. sanctions and defending Cuba’s independence.

NGOs, trade unions, governments, and humanitarian groups are sending material aid to Cuba. Spain’s government delivered food and health products to Cuba via the United Nations. South Africa provided food and medicines worth $3.2 million. The European Union sent its $3 million worth of donations through the Catholic Church.

Two Mexican naval ships arrived in Havana on February 13 with 814 tons of food and medical supplies. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum indicates shipments will continue and that an “air bridge” will be transporting supplies from other countries to Cuba.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian declared his country’s support for Cuba; 90,000 tons of rice are being shipped to Cuba. An $80 million loan is on the way.

The Nuestra América Convoy represents an international coalition of organizations organized by the Progressive International to bring humanitarian aid to Cuba. The flotilla and planes arrive in Havana on March 21.

International support for Cuba has fallen short. An editorial in Puerto Rico’s Claridad newspaper states that, “[T]he silence of the international community on this issue is deafening, particularly from countries in the Caribbean and Latin America.”  The European Union on February 5 announced €123 million in humanitarian aid for Latin America and Caribbean for 2026. Aid for the Caribbean region divides into €23 million for Haiti and a mere €4 million for other countries, Cuba included.

Realities

Oil is crucial to the functioning and integrity of modern societies anywhere. Without adequate supplies of oil, people in Cuba will be dying. A now famous report from the Lancet medical journal in 2025 says that since World War II, “unilateral sanctions were associated with an annual toll of 564,258 deaths [worldwide … which is] similar to the global mortality burden associated with armed conflict.”

U.S. economic sanctions against Cuba are the equivalent of war. Cuban death rates for infants and younger children had been rising since 2014, prior to the oil blockade. Addition of that blockade to 65 years of U.S. economic blockade most certainly will be deadly. As with other wartime sieges, victims either surrender or continue dying.

Another reality has been Cuba’s uniqueness, first as object of U.S. slave owners’ yearnings in the 19^th century, then for mobilizing under the leadership of José Martí (1853-1895) for independence and against U.S. designs, then for militantly opposing the U.S. dominated “pseudo-republic,” and then for mounting a revolution in 1959 that finally gained independence.

Cuba’s trajectory is quite unlike that of socialist revolutions collaborating with U.S. capitalism and focusing not so much on national independence. Cuba’s course mirrors that of the Monroe Doctrine. Cuba’s long interaction with that policy, usually as an outlier, may account for its special treatment at U.S. hands over the many decades.  This terrible oil blockade is merely one example.  Its horror epitomizes the importance of H.Res 1056, recently introduced in the U.S. Congress by Rep Nydia Velázquez . With 17 co-sponsors, the bill calls for “the annulment of the Monroe Doctrine and the development of a ‘New Good Neighbor’ policy in order to foster improved relations and deeper, more effective cooperation between the United States and its Latin American and Caribbean neighbors.”

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