Trump's Cuba Squeeze: When Oil Becomes a Weapon

6am blackouts. Empty gas stations. Hospitals struggling to keep the lights on. This is Cuba today, and Donald Trump just made it worse.

The US president signed an executive order Thursday threatening additional tariffs on any country that dares to sell oil to Cuba. His justification? The communist-run island poses an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to American national security. It's a claim that would be laughable if the consequences weren't so serious.

The Perfect Storm: Venezuela Falls, Cuba Suffers

Trump's timing isn't coincidental. Just weeks after the US captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in what officials described as a "bloody military night raid," Cuba lost its primary oil lifeline. Venezuela had been supplying 33% of Cuba's oil imports. Now that pipeline is severed.

The numbers tell a stark story. Mexico now provides 44% of Cuban oil imports, Russia supplies 10%, with smaller amounts from Algeria. But Trump's tariff threat puts even these remaining sources at risk.

Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuba's president, didn't mince words in his response. He accused Trump of planning to "suffocate" Cuba's economy under a "false and baseless pretext," calling it evidence of the "fascist, criminal and genocidal nature" of the current US administration. The target of his ire? Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Cuban American known for his hardline stance against Havana.

Mexico's Dilemma: Humanitarianism vs. Trade Relations

President Claudia Sheinbaum finds herself in an impossible position. Mexico's oil shipments to Cuba represent just 1% of the country's total production, but the humanitarian stakes couldn't be higher. "Our interest is that the Cuban people don't suffer," she said, while acknowledging the need to understand the full scope of Trump's executive order.

The Mexican president warned that cutting off oil could trigger a "far-reaching humanitarian crisis" affecting transportation, hospitals, and food access. Yet with Trump's tariff sword hanging overhead, Mexico must weigh its moral obligations against economic realities.

When Sanctions Become Siege Warfare

In Havana's streets, the human cost is impossible to ignore. Yenia Leon told reporters her food is spoiling without electricity. "You can't sleep. You have to buy food every day. There's no solution to the power situation," she said.

Lazaro Alfonso, an 89-year-old who survived Cuba's devastating "Special Period" in the 1990s following Soviet collapse, offers a chilling comparison: "The current situation in Cuba is worse." Back then, Cuba faced economic depression. Today, it's fighting a perfect storm of blackouts, fuel shortages, and basic goods scarcity.

"The only thing that's missing here in Cuba is for bombs to start falling," Alfonso said. It's a stark reminder that economic warfare can be just as devastating as military action.

The Unintended Consequences of Maximum Pressure

Trump's escalation comes as UN experts warn that six decades of sanctions have failed their original purpose while causing immense human suffering. Alena Douhan, UN special rapporteur on sanctions, noted last year that the restrictions mark "the longest-running unilateral sanctions policy in US history" with "severe consequences for the enjoyment of human rights."

The brain drain is particularly devastating. Medical staff, engineers, and teachers are emigrating in record numbers, hollowing out Cuba's professional class. Meanwhile, Russia and China have stepped into the void left by Western isolation, hardly the outcome Washington intended when it first imposed the embargo in 1962.