Introduction
For decades, Cuba has endured the weight of the United States’ economic embargo, but recent intensifications have plunged the island into its worst crisis in decades. Cubans have to live each day facing rolling power cuts, food scarcity, and failing medical services, with 11 million people. Its blockade has regularly been referred to as the longest-standing sanctions program in recent history and has not only disgraced the economy of Cuba, but it has also destroyed the integrity of life. This article explores various aspects of the struggle in Cuba, such as those affecting energy security, food security, health care pressures, economic impact, political and foreign aftermath, human narratives, and fresh revelations made through UN reports, which underscore the human cost of the sanctions.
Energy Crisis and Blackouts
The most noticeable impact of the US blockade is the energy crisis in Cuba. Blackouts have become a frequent occurrence in Havana and other cities, with electricity rationed for several hours per day. With unstable power, hospitals can hardly carry out their operations, and staff members have to use generators in the operating room. Families cannot afford gas or power, so they use candles, wood, and coal to cook. Al Jazeera claims that the oil embargo has put life on the island on hold, with empty bus stops and houses in darkness. The extraterritoriality of the blockade means that Cuba cannot import fuel even from its allies, and this increases the crisis. To sum up, the energy crisis would serve to demonstrate how sanctions can directly conflict with the backdrop of Cuba in terms of its fundamental infrastructure and daily existence.
Food Shortages and the Daily Struggles
Another disastrous impact of the blockade is food insecurity. The most essential things (rice, cooking oil, milk, etc.) are rationed, and long queues appear outside shops that have nothing on their shelves. Harmless populations, especially children and the older generation, are the most vulnerable. The El País news outlet says that Cuba has been compelled to revert to the 1990s era of basic survival by implementing the so-called zero-option survival tactics, such as stringent rationing and halting of social services. They are not just economic inconveniences but humanitarian disasters that undermine dignity and health. To conclude, food shortage highlights the use of the blockade in increasing poverty and malnutrition in Cuba.
Healthcare Strain
The healthcare that was once one of the pillars of socialism in Cuba has been badly debilitated. Medical shortages have also caused hospitals to be unable to deliver quality care due to the lack of drugs and medical supplies. Failures to provide surgeries and treatments due to power outages also pose a danger to lives. Havana Times points out the fact that hospitals experience blackouts, and patients and staff are compelled to live by candlelight and generator power. The blockade limits the access of the international pharmaceutical markets to Cuba, which worsens the crisis. The healthcare strain is an illustration of the ability of sanctions to override politics and literally cut short the lives of human beings.
Economic Collapse and Trade Restrictions
The economy of Cuba is at a standstill because of the sanctions that hit it, especially when the US terminated the Venezuelan oil supply. DW reports that the embargo has seen Cuba quickly becoming fuel-starved, with disastrous trickle-down consequences on its economy. Transport is suspended, and schools are closed, as well as paralyzing industries. According to Cuba’s official UN report, the blockade has cost the island over $159 billion in damages since its inception, with $4.8 billion lost in 2024 alone.
Political and International Dimensions
Politically, Cuba has condemned the blockade as an offense against international law. The UN General Assembly has constantly castigated the embargo, where 165 countries voted in favor of its abolition in 2025. The US is still imposing sanctions despite their total rejection by the rest of the world, indicating political and security issues. Cuba’s government insists that the blockade is a form of collective punishment, undermining sovereignty and human rights.
UN Findings: Human Rights Under Siege
In November 2025, UN Special Rapporteur Alena Douhan visited Cuba and concluded that US sanctions have a “huge impact on every aspect of life,” violating rights to food, health, and life itself. She noted that unilaterally taken coercive actions equate to the collective punishment of a mass of people and called for their immediate elimination. In response to this report, Cuba, according to its official UN report, has suffered cumulative damages to the tune of over 159 billion dollars since the embargo started, with the 4.8 billion losses in 2024 alone.
Such statistics highlight the levels of deprivation in which sanctions act as direct impediments to access basic goods and services. The results of Douhan are in line with the findings of the UN General Assembly several times, as the majority of the 165 countries voted that the embargo should be removed in 2025, which supports the view that the whole world does not want the embargo to be maintained.
Impact on Children and Vulnerable Groups
Famine and lack of medicine affect children and the elderly more than others. The World Food Programme reported that 1.3 million Cubans needed direct food assistance in 2024, with milk, protein, and cooking oil being the most in short supply. There is an increase in the malnutrition rate amongst the children, and schools are facing difficulties in providing meals because of supply chain disruptions. UNICEF has warned that prolonged shortages risk long-term developmental harm for Cuban children, while elderly citizens face heightened vulnerability due to restricted access to medicines for chronic illnesses. These humanitarian effects prove that sanctions are beyond politics, and they hit the most vulnerable members of society.
Migration and Brain Drain
The medical professionals have been leaving their posts, which has exacerbated the healthcare crisis. The Ministry of Health in Cuba admitted that thousands of physicians and nurses are going overseas or moving to other industries, leaving hospitals understaffed. This brain drain affects the long-held perception of Cuba as a medical excellence, with the former glory days of exporting doctors to various countries in their missions of international solidarity. Havana Times reports that the lack of supplies and wages has pushed professionals to find opportunities in other places, thus weakening the capacity of Cuba to maintain its health care system. The loss of skilled labor not only decreases capacity at hospitals but also tears apart families and emboldens the community since the community loses its expertise.
Global Solidarity and Calls for Change
Despite sanctions, Cuba continues to receive solidarity from countries and organizations. Nations within the BRICS bloc—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—have called for lifting the embargo, framing it as a violation of international law and sovereignty. Douhan will present her final report to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2026, and this may increase the pressure on Washington initially. This solidarity is not a new development: the world community is progressively beginning to think that unilateral sanctions are obsolete in terms of coercion, which disproportionately affects civilians as opposed to governments.
Conclusion
The US blockade on Cuba has produced a humanitarian crisis concerning blackouts, food shortages, strained healthcare, economic breakdown, political isolation, and suffering of human beings. Outspoken condemnation by the world, the sanctions only continue to raise serious concerns about their validity and propriety. The evidence indicates that the blockade is a political instrument that is more of a collective punishment, which weakens the sovereignty of Cuba and destroys the dignity of the people. Unless international law and humanitarian principles are to be given meaning, the moral implications of carrying out such a blockade must be faced by the world.
If you want to submit your articles and/or research papers, please visit the Submissions page.
To stay updated with the latest jobs, CSS news, internships, scholarships, and current affairs articles, join our Community Forum!
The views and opinions expressed in this article/paper are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Paradigm Shift.
Manahil Tariq Manj is a student of defence and strategic studies at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. She has previously interned at the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and is currently interning at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad. Her research interests include conventional and hybrid warfare, strategic deterrence, military diplomacy, regional conflict dynamics, and evolving doctrines of modern warfare.
