Solidarity from various peoples and states continues to grow against US imperialist strangulation of Cuba after Donald Trump tightened the flow of oil imports to the country by threatening oil-supplying states. This February, the US Coast Guard has twice turned back ships carrying oil from Mexico and Venezuela. The oil embargo is the US’ latest sanction on Cuba’s economy, which aims to pressure and bend its leaders and people to the will of the US.

Support and solidarity from the international community have poured in, defying US pressure. Two Mexican Navy vessels recently docked in Havana carrying more than 800 tons of food and hygiene products. Mexico is one of the states threatened by the US with higher tariffs if it continues to send oil to Cuba. Chile has also sent aid and has called the blockade “criminal” and a violation of the people’s human rights.

Meanwhile, Russia is set to directly defy US threats and has pledged to send oil and petroleum products to Cuba. China has sent aid worth $80 million, 60,000 tons of rice, and solar panels for residential use.

US organizations announced in February the sailing of the Nuestra America Flotilla to Cuba in March to deliver aid to the island and stand in solidarity with the Cuban people.

“The Trump Administration is strangling the Cuban people, cutting off fuel, flights, and critical supplies necessary for survival,” US congresswoman and flotilla endorser Rashida Tlaib said. “This policy of cruelty does not speak for the people of the United States.”

Criminal, shameless, and inhumane

Miguel Díaz‑Canel has described the US “energy blockade” against Cuba as “criminal, shameless, and inhumane.” He has compared it to Hitler’s actions. He said the denial of imported oil has severely affected transportation, hospitals and medical facilities, schools, tourism, and food production.

“Cuba is not a threat to the US,” he said. Nevertheless, its people are ready to defend their Motherland “until their last breath.”

Díaz‑Canel stressed that Cuba is open to talk with the US, but not within the framework of its pressure or amid many conditions, but from a position of equality between states and respect for Cuba’s sovereignty.

Stop strangling Cuba, end the blockade

The International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) has condemned the latest US pressure, which is only the latest of the US blockade against Cuba over the past more than 60 years. The decades‑long blockade has already caused over 2 trillion dollars in damage to Cuba’s economy, resulting in shortages of food and other basic necessities.

“The recent threats against all countries doing business with Cuba… amounts to a final economic suffocation attempt by the Trump regime to break the livelihood of the people and bend the country to its will.”

The ILPS has called on all peoples and movements in the world who love peace to extend moral, political, and material solidarity to Cuba amid its extremely dire situation and to continue fighting US imperialism.

“For decades, Cuba….is fighting for a better socialist future and asserting its independence against US imperialism’s attacks on its sovereignty. It has not only improved the livelihood of its own people, but has aided many nations across the world in some of the most heroic acts of international solidarity.”