What is the Point of Making Life worse in Cuba?

As you probably read by now, I did 9 months in Cuba at Gitmo, the US naval base. I was stationed there as part of 8th Marines handling all of the land-line communications at the fence and posts on the Leeward side. Taking a leap here . . . it is interesting how Trump treats countries like Cuba and Venezuela as compared to Russia and even Ukraine. In the latter, it is harder to bully them. Anyways, I tend to see things differently than the Pres . . .

“From blackouts to food shortages: How US blockade is crippling life in Cuba,” Al Jazeera

A US oil blockade is causing a severe energy crisis in Cuba, as the government has been forced to ration fuel and cut electricity for many hours a day, paralyzing life in the communist-ruled island nation of 11 million.

Bus stops are empty, and families are turning to wood and coal for cooking, living through near-constant power outages amid an economic crisis worsened by the Trump administration’s steps in recent weeks.

Most recently, the US did allow fuel to be delivered to Cuba via freighter. This is an ~10-day supply. There is still many shortages in Cuba. And no increase in danger coming from Cuba towards the United States. Four months of blockading the island nation.

Who are we punishing here? The leaders or the civilian population? As reported, the nation has not been much of a threat to the United States. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Cuba’s economy also collapsed. It shrunk by ~35% in subsequent years. This was due to losing its primary economic aid source.

Cuba’s situation could be comparable to the Great Depression of the 1930s. Blackouts became regular, and food supplies were rationed. The Cuban government did introduce changes to including allowing foreign investment for some sectors and limited private business. It largely kept the socialist system in place.

The US did chart a political and economic change in policy in 2017. A policy change ending an outdated and outdated diplomatic practices, The failing policy then did nothing to advance U.S. interests, support reform, and promote a better life for the Cuban people on the island.

Under the new policy, the United States was expanding and promoting policy changes with Cuba. The result was to advance cooperation in areas of mutual interest, increase travel to, commerce with, and the free flow of information to Cuba. Cuba is no threat to the United States which if such was the case, we would not know about it in time to prevent.

What changed since 2017? Trump! Trump decided to nation build in 2026. We shall see.

What has the UN said about the Cuban crisis?

United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Wednesday that “the secretary-general is extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Cuba, which will worsen, and if not collapse, if its oil needs go unmet”.

Dujarric said, for more than three decades, the UN General Assembly has consistently called for an end to the embargo imposed by the US on Cuba, adding that the UN urges “all parties to pursue dialogue and respect for international law”.

Francisco Pichon, the senior-most UN official in Cuba, described “a combination of emotions” in the country – “a mix of resilience, but also grief, sorrow and indignation, and some concern about the regional developments”.

The UN team in Havana says the vast majority of Cubans are hit by rolling blackouts, with the number of people in vulnerable situations increasing significantly.

“The last two years have been quite tough,” Pichon said, adding that urgent changes are needed to sustain Cuba “in the midst of the severe economic, financial and trade sanctions”.