Overview
- UN High Commissioner Volker Türk said on Monday that recent US fuel restrictions and extraterritorial penalties have directly harmed civilians and that “children are dying” because doctors lack essential medicines and supplies.
- Türk’s office cited public-health data showing infant mortality doubled to 9.9 per 1,000 births and childhood cancer survival fell from about 85% to 65% since the fuel restrictions began, with essential medicines at roughly 30% of normal levels.
- The measures include a January national emergency that cut off foreign oil links and May sectoral sanctions that threaten traders, insurers, shippers, and banks, prompting private firms to suspend service and worsening fuel shortages and daily blackouts that often exceed 20 hours.
- The UN demanded Washington lift the fuel-related and extraterritorial sanctions immediately and also urged the Cuban government to respect freedoms and release those arbitrarily detained; the US had not publicly reversed course as of the statement.
- The current crisis builds on decades of US embargo policy and recent escalations — including Cuba’s 2025 State Sponsor of Terrorism listing and 2025–26 targeted sanctions — and risks worsening as the hurricane season and extreme heat threaten health and supply chains.