Washington must end collective punishment of Cuban people

The United Nations General Assembly had, by a resolution adopted on Oct 29, 2025, called for the United States to lift its embargo on Cuba. It was for the 33rd consecutive year that the UNGA overwhelmingly condemned the US embargo imposed since 1962.

Instead of heeding the calls of the global community, Washington has chosen to double down on its embargo, with US President Donald Trump signing an executive order on Jan 29 to impose punitive tariffs on countries that directly or indirectly supply oil to Cuba.

During my trips to Cuba a decade ago, I had witnessed how the decades-long US embargo has impoverished the Cuban population by denying the country opportunities to grow its economy and improve the livelihood of its 11 million people.

The latest oil embargo, however, has worsened the humanitarian crisis — widespread electricity outages and severe disruptions of essential public and social services, such as those in hospitals, schools, water supply and public sanitation sectors.

UN Human Rights spokesperson Marta Hurtado said the organization is "extremely worried about Cuba's deepening socio-economic crisis" caused by a decades-long embargo and the recent US measures restricting oil shipments, adding that "this is having an increasingly severe impact on the human rights of people in Cuba".

Cuba's UN resident coordinator Francisco Pichon said on Monday the US oil embargo is preventing aid from reaching those still struggling to recover from Hurricane Melissa, which hit eastern Cuba in late October.

In a statement issued early this month, the Group of 77 plus China expressed their solidarity with Cuba and called out the US for its violations of the UN Charter and international laws, including the US' arbitrary inclusion of Cuba in its "state sponsor of terrorism" list.

On the other hand, the US President bragged about the brutal collective punishment being meted out to innocent Cuban people, telling reporters last week that "Cuba is now a failed nation. They don't even have jet fuels to get their airplanes to take off, they're plugging up their runway".

While the US has provided no solid evidence of Cuba being a state sponsor of terrorism, a designation that former US president Barack Obama removed in 2015, the US blockade and its latest oil embargo are coercive economic measures that have caused severe humanitarian consequences. It is a typical case of a superpower bullying a small island neighbor just 145 kilometers away.

The oil embargo is the US' latest "might makes right" move following its military attack and abduction of Venezuela's president and his wife; the threat of war and gunboat diplomacy against Iran; and tariffs slapped on the entire world, a move that the US Supreme Court last week ruled as unconstitutional.

Washington is pressing a lot of countries, including those in Europe, not to oppose its barbaric oil embargo on Cuba. However, such action only allows more countries to see more clearly what a big bully it is. In North America, Mexico and Canada have pledged assistance for Cuba to avoid the humanitarian crisis created by the latest US embargo. At a summit of 15 nations from the Caribbean and the Americas on Tuesday, leaders voiced deep concern about the hardship Cubans are undergoing because of the embargo. They also opposed US pressures forcing Latin American countries to cut educational and medical ties with Cuba.

The US government might delude itself into thinking that its campaign will lead the Cuban people to revolt against their own government. On the contrary, it will more likely unite the proud people against a big foreign bully.

The announcement by the US Department of the Treasury on Wednesday to allow Venezuelan oil to be resold to Cuba through private-sector intermediaries is likely a correction under growing international pressure but far from enough. The US should move to remove the barbaric embargo on Cuba imposed since 1962.

I happened to be based in Washington in July 2015, to cover the restoration of diplomatic ties between Cuba and the US. More exchanges and communications between the two countries are clearly better for both countries than hostilities in the form of the US' inhumane embargo.

The author is a China Daily columnist.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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