US Lawmakers Witness Impact of Energy Blockade on Cuba
Jonathan Jackson of Illinois described Cuba as the "most sanctioned part of Earth" amid a US oil blockade that has caused significant disruptions on the island.
Two US lawmakers, Representatives Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Jonathan Jackson of Illinois, called on Monday for a permanent resolution to the crises facing Cuba after visiting the country to observe the effects of the American energy blockade firsthand. Their five-day trip, which concluded on Sunday, included meetings with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, and members of Cuba’s parliament.
“I denounced the criminal damage caused by the blockade, particularly the consequences of the energy siege decreed by the current US government and its threats of even more aggressive actions,” Díaz-Canel wrote on X.
The Cuban president also emphasized his government’s commitment to maintaining a serious and responsible bilateral dialogue to find solutions to existing differences.
“I denounced the criminal damage caused by the blockade, particularly the consequences of the energy siege decreed by the current US government and its threats of even more aggressive actions,” Díaz-Canel wrote on X.
He further stated that he had
“reiterated the willingness of our government to sustain a serious and responsible bilateral dialogue, and to find solutions to the existing differences”.
The US has been perceived as pursuing a potential “friendly takeover” of Cuba, while Díaz-Canel advocates for economic cooperation that does not compromise Cuba’s sovereignty.
“This is cruel collective punishment – effectively an economic bombing of the infrastructure of the country – that has produced permanent damage,” Jayapal and Jackson said in a statement released on Sunday. “It must stop immediately.”
The United States and Cuba have acknowledged ongoing high-level talks led by the US Secretary of State. These discussions follow tensions after the American president issued executive orders in January threatening tariffs on countries supplying fuel to Cuba.
Oil shipments from Venezuela, a critical regional partner, were halted after the US took action against the South American country in early January and arrested its leader, Nicolás Maduro.
This disruption led to acute fuel shortages in Cuba, resulting in national blackouts, gasoline scarcities and rationing, shortages of essential goods, and reductions in working hours. The crisis also paralyzed hospitals and surgeries and caused widespread hardship.
A sanctioned Russian oil tanker, the Anatoly Kolodkin, was permitted to dock at Cuba’s Matanzas oil terminal on 30 March, unloading 700,000 barrels of crude oil in what appeared to be a relaxation of US policy. Experts estimate that this shipment could yield about 180,000 barrels of diesel, sufficient to meet Cuba’s daily demand for nine to ten days.
At the conclusion of their visit, Jayapal told reporters that Cuba’s recent steps—including opening its economy to certain investments by Cuban Americans living abroad and announcing the pardon of more than 2,000 prisoners—
“indicate that the moment is here for us to have a real negotiation between the two countries and to reverse the failed US policy of decades”.
She characterized the US policy as
“a cold war remnant that no longer serves the American people or the Cuban people”and described the recent oil shipment, with a second expected soon, as only a temporary solution.
“We need a longer, permanent solution for the Cuban people and the American people,”she said.
Jackson compared the oil blockade of Cuba to restrictions on oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz. He called Cuba
“the most sanctioned part of Earth”.
“Our government is fighting to keep the strait of Hormuz open so there is a free flow of oil around the world,”he said.
“We want, for humanitarian reasons, a free flow of oil, fuel, and energy in our own hemisphere.”
Jackson had stated in March:
“Trump’s cruel blockade has collectively punished the Cuban people and led to inhumane conditions.”He called for lifting the embargo and advancing economic cooperation.
For over 60 years, Jackson added,
“the US has pushed a counterproductive embargo that brought pain to generations of Cubans and further eroded their pursuit of freedom. Cubans deserve to decide their own future – not wannabe colonizers like Donald Trump.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
