US Oil Blockade on Cuba Is Harming Hospitals, Education, and Scientific Research

Cuba is facing a growing humanitarian crisis due to a U.S.-imposed oil blockade. The Trump administration has also threatened new tariffs against any nation that sends fuel to Cuba, which has been under a U.S. trade embargo since 1962. These measures have caused fuel shortages and widespread blackouts, while the cost of food and transportation has skyrocketed. “This is a massive violation of human rights,” says Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, Cuban ambassador to the United Nations. “It’s a massive violation of international law.”

TRANSCRIPT

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AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.

Cuba is facing a growing humanitarian crisis due to a U.S.-imposed oil blockade. Cuba’s government announced Monday it’s running out of fuel for commercial aviation, prompting Air Canada to cancel flights to and from the island. The Trump administration has threatened new tariffs against any nation that sends fuel to Cuba, which has been under a U.S. economic embargo since 1962, more than half a century ago.

In recent years, Venezuela had been a key supplier of oil for Cuba, but that supply was cut off in early January after U.S. forces attacked Venezuela and abducted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.

The Trump administration’s Cuba policy is being led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has long called for regime change in Cuba, where his parents were born.

Fuel shortages in Cuba have prompted major blackouts, while the cost of food and transportation has skyrocketed. In recent weeks, top U.N. officials have repeatedly warned about the impact of the U.S. oil blockade.

STÉPHANE DUJARRIC: The secretary-general is extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Cuba, which will worsen, if not collapse, if its oil needs go unmet. He notes that for more than three decades, the General Assembly has consistently called for an end to the embargo imposed by the United States on Cuba. The secretary-general urges all parties to pursue dialogue and respect for international law.

AMY GOODMAN: In January, Mexico also stopped sending fuel to Cuba, but Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has openly criticized the U.S. oil blockade against Cuba, describing the policy as, quote, “very unfair.” Earlier this week, Mexico sent two ships carrying humanitarian aid to Cuba. This is President Sheinbaum, speaking earlier this week.

PRESIDENT CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM: [translated] This sanction being imposed on countries that sell oil to Cuba is very unjust, very unfair. It’s not right, because sanctions that affect the people are not right. You can agree or disagree with Cuba’s government, but the people should never be affected.

AMY GOODMAN: On Thursday, residents of Havana gathered as Mexican ships unloaded white pallets of humanitarian aid. This is Pavel Martínez.

PAVEL MARTÍNEZ: [translated] The country is going through a very complicated situation. With the United States blocking fuel, practically the entire economy stops. I think Mexico is doing a good deed for us regardless of the commercial contract that exists, as the president of Mexico has said. The friendship that has always existed between Cuba, Mexico and several other countries in the area, Cuba has also provided help in other ways. I think now it’s our turn to receive help because of the situation the United States has put us in.

AMY GOODMAN: We’re joined right now by Cuba’s Ambassador to the United Nations Ernesto Soberón Guzmán.

Welcome to Democracy Now! I’m glad Democracy Now! falls in the 25-mile zone around Columbus Circle where you’re allowed to travel. Can you explain why you are so limited?

ERNESTO SOBERÓN GUZMÁN: Well, first of all, Amy, thank you very much for having us this opportunity to participate in your show. And by the way, lovely song of Silvio Rodríguez, the song of love. So, it’s what we need right now.

Well, as you said, yes, we have a restriction of movement here in New York, the members of our staff. We only have 25 miles around Columbus Circle to move, which is a measure just that affect Cuban Mission and some other few missions. The rest of the diplomats accredited in New York, they have free movement, not only in New York, but all over around the U.S. And that’s part of the policy of aggression of the U.S. government against Cuba, because there is no other reason that you limited the movement of the diplomats accredited to the U.N.

AMY GOODMAN: I want to ask you about the Trump administration’s fuel blockade on Cuba that has pushed the island to the brink of humanitarian collapse. That’s what the United Nations has warned, as the Cuban people face more frequent power outages, shortages of basic necessities, skyrocketing costs of food, transportation. And your government, Cuba’s government, announced Monday it’s run out of fuel for commercial aviation. So, you’ve got Air Canada saying they won’t fly in or out. Why don’t you describe right now the conditions on the ground?

ERNESTO SOBERÓN GUZMÁN: Well, first of all, I would like to say that the word “collapse,” “betrayed,” “give up” are not in our dictionary, you know? Even when we face a situation like this, which is a very, very complex situation, the words that are in our dictionary are “resistance,” “resilience,” “find solution for our problem,” you know, because this is not the first time that we face a situation like this.

The point is that, first of all, my question is: It is right, not only unfair, but it is legal that a third country tell other countries that they can do or they cannot do something? Do the U.S. government has the right to say something like this? Is that a violation of the international law? Is that a violation of the rules of the foreign trade? Is that a violation of the Charter of the U.N.? Yes, it is.

So, the situation is very complicated, because, as you can imagine, it has a huge impact, not only from the humanitarian point of view, because, of course, for the hospital, you need electricity. For the education system, you need electricity. For production, for food production, you need electricity. If you produce foods, you need to transport food from one point to other point, and you need also fuel. If you need to — for our research, scientific research, you need electricity also.

So, what they are doing is trying to create as much problem as possible. And it is not a new strategy. It comes since 1960, when the under secretary of state at that time, Lester Mallory, said that the only way to defeat the Cuban government is to create economic problems, is to create a situation that — a social and humanitarian situation so worse that the Cuban people cannot resist something like this.

But the history shows that we have been resisting for the last 67 years. And we are ready to continue to finding solution for our problem. And the point is: Why does the U.S. government need to do something like this against a small country like Cuba? Because the pretext to sign the executive order on January 29 was that Cuba is — Cuba poses a threat to the U.S. national security. So, how is it possible that someone can believe that a small country like Cuba suppose or pose a threat to the U.S. national security?

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Ambassador, I wanted to ask you — most Americans are not aware that the entire blockade of the last 60 years is universally condemned by practically every nation in the world, except for the United States and Israel. At the United Nations, it’s been condemned every single year. And yet it continues. If you could talk about this flagrant — because our media never says this is an illegal — an illegal blockade of the United States against Cuba. If you could talk about that?

ERNESTO SOBERÓN GUZMÁN: Of course. Good morning, Mr. Juan.

You know, as you said, for the last 33 years, the U.N. General Assembly has voted in a resolution against the embargo of the U.S. to Cuba, you know, with the overwhelming support of the international community that are saying the U.S. government, for the last 33 years, you have to lift the embargo. But it is not only the embargo. This is an economic war, you know, because it is the embargo, but it is also to include Cuba in the list of state sponsors of terrorism, you know?

Former President Biden, six days before to leave the White House, he removed Cuba from the list of sponsors of terrorism based on reports made by U.S. agencies that said that Cuba is not linking with the supporting of terrorism, you know? But a week later, President Trump included Cuba again in the list without taking in account the report made by the U.S. agencies.

But what does it mean that Cuba is included in the list of sponsors of terrorism? One just — one single example, U.S. government has canceled around or more than 300,000 ESTA visas, electronic visas, for European citizens just because they visited Cuba as a tourist. So, that means that countries like Dominican Republic or Mexico, where they receive a lot of European tourists also, they have recovered the number of tourists that they received before COVID, and Cuba didn’t. Why? Because measures like this.

So, the question is: Why does the U.S. government want that European tourists don’t visit Cuba? But second question: Why the U.S. government don’t allow the U.S. citizens to visit Cuba as a tourist? Because when we have this moment of engagement policy during the presidency of President Obama, Americans — Cuba became the first over world destination for the American tourists, especially those who want to travel with the cruiser companies based in Florida. And every time that they return to the U.S., they said, “It was not so worse like you told me before,” because they found a country with problems, of course, like everywhere, but they find also a problem with friendly people, with delicious food, with amazing culture, so — with a safe country. So, it was a place where they enjoy when they visited.

So, we have the embargo. We have the list of sponsors of terrorism. And also now we have the executive order of January 29 trying to blockade the supply of oil to Cuba. So, they are, but also we have a campaign against medical cooperation that Cuba offer to some countries all over around the world. Cuba is famous because our health system, our health personnel, so — and they are saying that third countries, they cannot establish cooperation with Cuba in the health sector, because it’s another source of incomes of Cuba. The question is: Once the Cuban doctors and nurses are going back to Cuba, they are going to send U.S. doctors and nurses to attend people in the third countries? This is something that you have to ask the U.S. government.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Yeah, I also — I also wanted to ask you, Ambassador, about the international solidarity. We reported on this Mexican humanitarian aid. Today in Moscow, Dmitry Peskov, the Russian presidential spokesman, said that Russia is evaluating options to assist — to assist Cuba. And quoting Peskov, he said, “During all these days we have been in contact with our Cuban friends and have been discussing options to help them,” possibly sending oil to Cuba. Your sense of what kind of solidarity you’ve been receiving around the world?

ERNESTO SOBERÓN GUZMÁN: Well, as you mentioned, we have received an overwhelming solidarity, not only — and our gratitude forever and ever to Russia, to Mexico and to the rest of the countries that have pronounced against this measure. But also, if you take a look of what is happening in the U.N., you will see that we have an overwhelming support. The G77 and China, the largest group in the U.N., they made a statement denouncing these new measures implemented by the U.S. government. The Non-Aligned Movement, they also made a statement. The G77, it’s 134 countries; Non-Aligned Movement, 124 countries. They also made a statement denouncing this situation. As we could see, the spokesperson of the secretary-general also denounced about the situation. Today, in the morning, the spokesperson of the human rights commissioner of the U.N. also denounced the measure and said that it was a violation of the human rights of the Cuban people. Yesterday, a group of independent experts of the U.N. Human Rights Office, they also published a press release denouncing the situation, the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the U.N. and the rest of the countries that you already mentioned. So, everybody understands that this is a massive violation of the human rights, this is a massive violation of international law, and something have to change.

AMY GOODMAN: Ambassador, I want to ask you quickly about the Trump administration’s attack on Cuba’s medical program. For decades, Cuba has sent doctors around the world to assist in health crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Amidst U.S. pressure. Guatemala has announced it will be phasing out the use of Cuban doctors, a move that’s likely to disproportionately impact Indigenous peoples living in poverty. Last year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced visa restrictions for current and former Cuban officials involved in the medical missions, as well as foreign government officials who are linked to the program. Paraguay, the Bahamas, Guyana have also ended or altered similar agreements. If you could comment quickly on that? And then, overall, talk about whether you feel the attack on Maduro and his abduction, brought not far from here — I don’t know if it’s within the 25-mile zone — to the Brooklyn Detention Center, is ultimately about the United States trying to take down your country, trying to take down Cuba, led by the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

ERNESTO SOBERÓN GUZMÁN: OK, first of all, about the cooperation, the health cooperation, as I said, unfortunately, the secretary of state and the government of the U.S. have started a campaign against the Cuban cooperation. And I think that — I think, no, they are not thinking about those people that have been receiving the healthcares from the Cuban doctors are nurses. So, this is the first point.

The second point is that Cuba, those are programs of cooperation that were established between Cuba and third countries, because both parts decided to do it. And we will remain there until both parts agree that we are — they need our service. Once someone think or decide that it doesn’t need anymore, then our professionals —

AMY GOODMAN: We have 30 seconds.

ERNESTO SOBERÓN GUZMÁN: OK. And regarding the Venezuela issue, what happened in Venezuela is a violation of international law. Forget about Cuba. Forget about. They do something against that no one’s supposed to do. You know, they attack a sovereign state, an independent state, and they kidnap a president that was elected in this country.

AMY GOODMAN: Are high-level talks taking place between the U.S. and Cuba and Mexico?

ERNESTO SOBERÓN GUZMÁN: No, our president said that there are no high-level talks. But he also said that we are ready to have it, based on equal footing, respect on sovereignty and respect on independence.

AMY GOODMAN: Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, Cuba’s ambassador to the United Nations, thank you so much for joining us. We’ll do an interview in Spanish and post it online.

That does it for our show. February 23rd is Democracy Now!’s 30th anniversary at Riverside Church. Wynton Marsalis, Michael Stipe, Angela Davis, Naomi Klein and many others will be there. Go to democracynow.org to get tickets. They are running out fast. Happy Birthday to Brendan Allen! I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.