The Cuban government announced Monday that the Trump administration’s oil blockade would soon abandon airlines without jet fuel. In response, US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warned that the international community is becoming too accepting of economic actions that collectively punish entire populations, not just government officials.
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Ocasio-Cortez told Drop Site News that the conditions leading to increased hardship for Cubans were set in Gaza, where US officials have supported Israel’s policies since October 2023. She stated, “This is what we’ve seen with Gaza, right, this is a new kind of era of depravity opened up, where there used to be—or there was this stated commitment on human rights—that innocent civilians were almost exempt from the rules of war, from blockades.”
Cuba has long been subject to a decadeslong US trade embargo. Trump’s decision to cut off Cuba’s oil supply from Venezuela, its largest energy supplier, and threaten tariffs on countries providing oil to Cuba has resulted in blackouts and threatens the country’s healthcare system, as hospitals may lack fuel to operate.
Ocasio-Cortez drew parallels between the economic pressure on Cuba and the situation in Gaza, where a “ceasefire” deal was reached in October, but hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by the Israel Defense Forces since then, and aid continues to be blocked. The Israeli military, with US support, has reportedly killed more than 71,000 Palestinians and damaged civilian infrastructure.
Ocasio-Cortez expressed concern that “it’s kind of become acceptable that the entire Western world will look the other way as they starve and deprive a people because they find political actors or political regimes in that country to be objectionable.” She warned of the potential for hospitals to run out of fuel, endangering children, and women.
Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, agreed with Ocasio-Cortez, stating that the events in Gaza were intended to “destroy much of international law and the norms around the use of force in order to make increasingly inhumane use of violence and coercion against CIVILIANS permissible.” Dylan Williams, vice president for government affairs at the Center for International Policy, added that Ocasio-Cortez was advocating for a rules-based international consensus on human rights, which he said the Biden administration abandoned when supporting Israel’s assault on Gaza.
Pierre-Emmanuel Dupont, an international expert on sanctions law, warned that the Trump administration was “posing the risk of imminent humanitarian collapse” due to the lack of fuel, which could affect the human rights of the Cuban population. He stated that sanctions should be limited to officials and not applied broadly to the entire population, which he described as collective punishment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What prompted Representative Ocasio-Cortez’s comments?
Representative Ocasio-Cortez’s comments were prompted by the Cuban government’s announcement that the Trump administration’s oil blockade would soon leave airlines without jet fuel.
What comparison did Ocasio-Cortez make regarding the situations in Cuba and Gaza?
Ocasio-Cortez compared the economic pressure being applied to Cuba to the situation in Gaza, stating both represent a “new kind of era of depravity” where civilians are increasingly vulnerable.
What is the Trump administration’s stated justification for the oil blockade?
Trump has claimed he aims to punish the Cuban government, which he said constitutes “an unusual and extraordinary threat” to the US, and accused the country, without evidence, of harboring terrorists.
As governments weigh the use of economic pressure as a tool of foreign policy, what responsibility do nations have to mitigate the impact of such measures on civilian populations?
