July 13, 2026
Last week, the third nationwide collapse of Cuba’s electrical grid since the Trump administration imposed a de facto fuel blockade marked a dangerous new stage in Cuba’s humanitarian crisis. For many months, Cubans have endured daily blackouts lasting well over twenty-four hours, crippling hospitals, water systems, schools, transportation, food production, communications and the entire economy. The latest grid collapse corroborates what experts have found— that urgently needed access to fuel is now literally a matter of life and death [1]. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned that U.S. sanctions are “endangering lives” by contributing to shortages of medicines, medical supplies, healthcare services, food, electricity, and clean water, while independent experts have concluded that restrictions on access to essential goods and services are contributing to preventable deaths and worsening public health outcomes.[2]
The Alliance for Cuba Engagement and Respect (ACERE) stresses that the current Cuban energy crisis is not simply the result of Cuba’s internal policies, as the Trump administration has claimed.[3] It is the foreseeable consequence of an unprecedented campaign of economic coercion pursued by the second Trump administration, built upon the maximum-pressure architecture established during the first Trump administration, largely preserved by the Biden administration, and layered on top of more than six decades of sweeping sanctions and measures to choke the Cuban economy. Over the past six months, a de-facto oil blockade or systematic restrictions on Cuba’s access to imported fuel imposed by the Trump administration have drastically reduced deliveries to the island, with only one Russian tanker reaching Cuban ports in April and temporally easing blackouts.[4]
Fuel shortages have not only reduced electricity generation; they have also severely impaired Cuba’s ability to restore power after a nationwide grid failure. The decentralized generating units repaired in recent years were specifically intended both to expand electricity production and to perform the “black start” process needed to re-energize the national grid after a collapse. However, without fuel –which Cuba is not yet able to refine from its heavy national crude— those investments are rendered ineffective. By deliberately constraining fuel supplies, U.S. policy has undermined both Cuba’s ability to generate electricity and its capacity to recover from catastrophic system failures.
Rather than reconsidering a policy whose humanitarian costs continue to mount, the Trump administration today announced yet another round of sanctions targeting Cuban state companies involved in fuel imports and logistics [5]. Although administration officials had argued that the U.S. would only allow Cuba’s private sector to import fuel directly from the United States [6], these new sanctions target precisely the companies that private businesses have relied upon for the logistics necessary to carry out these high risk operations. Escalating sanctions that directly aim at stopping any fuel imports, even by Cuba’s private sector, will only deepen the humanitarian emergency and further weaken Cuba’s emerging private sector.
These policies are not advancing U.S. interests. They are deepening an ongoing humanitarian crisis just ninety miles from the United States, increasing migration pressures, destabilizing the Caribbean, alienating allies whose companies are threatened by secondary sanctions, and diminishing prospects for constructive engagement at the very moment the Cuban government has launched its most ambitious economic reforms in decades and many official public statements stressing that is willing to negotiate with the Trump administration.[7] A policy that contributes to prolonged blackouts and undermines access to essential civilian services cannot credibly claim to promote democracy, human rights, or regional stability. ACERE therefore urges the Trump administration to immediately lift restrictions that impede Cuba’s access to fuel and other essential trade, suspend secondary sanctions that obstruct legitimate trade between Cuba and other nations, authorize the humanitarian and commercial transactions necessary to sustain civilian life, and engage the Cuban government in serious negotiations. Continuing this failed strategy will not produce the political change its architects promise. It will only prolong unnecessary suffering, accelerate instability on America’s doorstep, weaken U.S. credibility, and further undermine American strategic and national security interests.
For more information, contact: allianceforcuba@acere.org .
[1] The infant mortality rate has doubled in the last few years. (“US Sanctions and the Sharp Rise in Infant Mortality in Cuba,” Center for Economic and Policy Research, April 27, 2026. https://cepr.net/publications/us-sanctions-and-the-sharp-rise-in-infant-mortality-in-cuba/ ).The survival rate for children with cancer has fallen to 65% from 85% before the energy restrictions began in January. Over 100,000 Cubans are on waiting lists for surgery, and the treatment schedules of nearly 3,000 patients requiring kidney dialysis have been disrupted. https://apnews.com/article/cuba-us-oil-embargo-blockade-healthcare-6fa86704197b96be84372ef84fdf474f
[2] Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, “U.S. sanctions against Cuba are endangering lives and must be lifted,“ June 8, 2026. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/06/us-sanctions-against-cuba-are-endangering-lives-and-must-be-lifted
[3] United Nations General Assembly. Official Journal – Meetings of 7 July 2026. https://journal.un.org/en/new-york/meeting/officials/640750cb-37d7-4980-9a2b-bc7365ad791b/2026-07-07
[4] “Cuba sees short-term relief as Russian oil begins to flow” https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/cuba-sees-short-term-relief-russian-oil-begins-flow-2026-04-23/.
[5] U.S. Department of State, Further Sanctions on the Cuban Regime’s Sources of Funding and Tools of Oppression (July 2026). https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/07/further-sanctions-on-the-cuban-regimes-sources-of-funding-and-tools-of-oppression/ and U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control, FAQ 1262 (July 2026). https://ofac.treasury.gov/faqs/1262
[6] “US ramps up fuel exports to Cuba’s private sector” https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-ramps-up-fuel-exports-cubas-private-sector-2026-03-25/ .
[7] “ACERE Regrets the State Department Misses a Key Opportunity for Economic Engagement with Cuba” https://acere.org/state-department-misses-a-key-opportunity-for-economic-engagement-with-cuba/
