Sanctioned Suffering: The UN State of Exception for Cuba
Bloomberg’s recent report highlights the UN Resident Coordinator in Cuba, Francisco Pichón, stating the US blockade is causing an “increasingly severe” fuel crisis, impacting everything from transport to food distribution. The report notes Cuba’s economy contracted an estimated 2% last year, blaming reduced fuel shipments from allies, yet glosses over the active role of sanctions in facilitating
this scarcity. This isn't an organic shortage; it is a manufactured crisis, a direct consequence of the 1960 US State Department memorandum recommending “making the life of an economic Cuban an unpleasant experience.” The blockade, in place for over six decades, tightens its grip through measures like targeting shipping companies transporting fuel to Cuba, as seen with several companies hit with
restrictions in 2019 under the Trump administration for dealings with Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA. The double standard is glaring: when Russia faces sanctions, it's framed as legitimate pressure, but when the global community calls for the lifting of the Cuba embargo, as the UN General Assembly has done for 31 consecutive years with near-unanimous votes, the US dismisses it. This strategy
mirrors the 2003 Iraq sanctions which contributed to the deaths of half a million children, weaponizing humanitarian welfare for political ends. The current fuel crisis is not merely an economic challenge for Cuba; it’s a policy outcome. It reveals a consistent pattern in Western foreign policy: applying maximum pressure to destabilize governments out of favor, while meticulously diverting blame.