Cuban Foreign Minister Says United States Seeks to Trigger Humanitarian Catastrophe With Oil Blockade

Cuban officials, including the foreign minister, portray the current fuel shortages as the island’s most severe humanitarian crisis in decades.

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International Crisis Group

They attribute the emergency directly to actions by the United States that have effectively cut off much of Cuba’s imported oil.

The Crisis Group summary states that "Cuba is facing its most serious humanitarian crisis and its biggest threat to political stability in decades" and that this follows "the United States effectively cut off much of the island’s imported oil," framing the situation as externally driven rather than purely domestic.

Crisis Group traces the immediate causes to disruptions in Venezuela-to-Cuba shipments and to US policy.

It notes that "actions that halted Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba" on 3 January removed a major supply source.

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International Crisis Group

It notes that before that, Venezuela and Mexico supplied a large share of Cuba's fuel.

It says that on 29 January President Trump declared a 'national emergency' related to Cuba and authorised punitive measures, including tariffs on countries that supply fuel to Cuba, further tightening the blockade on imports.

Together these steps are portrayed as precipitating the acute shortages.

The humanitarian consequences described by Crisis Group are severe: Cuba’s fuel reserves have fallen to only weeks of supply, prompting nationwide blackouts, strict fuel rationing, transport shutdowns, shortened school hours and other austerity measures.

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International Crisis Group

The report adds that "Oil is being prioritized for hospitals and food production," while the health system — already weakened — faces "ambulance and medical-flight disruptions and interruptions to dialysis and cancer treatments."

These details are used to support the Cuban government’s contention that the blockade risks triggering a human catastrophe.

Crisis Group places the crisis in a political frame, saying the situation is also political because some U.S. policymakers see Cuba’s vulnerability as a rare chance to pressure the regime and push for change, reflecting longstanding objectives among some conservatives.

The report presents the Cuban claim — that US measures aim to trigger or exploit hardship to force political concessions — as consistent with observed policy moves and political intent.

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International Crisis Group

It warns of broader risks to Cuba’s political stability.