The U.S. claims it’s helping the Cuban people while blocking the fuel that keeps hospitals running and water systems functioning. You can’t claim humanitarian concern while deliberately engineering a humanitarian crisis. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/w...

"One of Castro’s central foreign policy goals was internationalism – the promotion of decolonisation and revolutionary politics abroad. This involved sending troops to fight in wars against colonial or proxy forces on the African continent" elevennamedpeople.substack.com/p/hands-of-c...

"Not only has the administration coerced Venezuela and Mexico, until recently Cuba’s 2 largest fuel suppliers, into halting oil shipments to the island, it has also pressured Central American and Caribbean countries to drop their medical services contracts with Cuba" theintercept.com/2026/03/24/c...

From 1999 to 2020, Cuba maintained a lower infant mortality rate than the US despite far fewer resources and decades of sanctions—driven by a model prioritizing public health. In recent years, however, the strain of COVID-19 and intensified sanctions has contributed to a rise in infant mortality.

Sugar defines Cuba’s history. After the Haitian Revolution, it became a leading producer, shaping colonial rule and policy under Fidel Castro. After the Soviet collapse, the industry contracted rapidly, pushing Cuba towards promoting tourism to replace the revenue once generated by exporting sugar.

Despite far fewer resources, Cuba produces the highest number of doctors per capita in the world by heavily investing in healthcare. That surplus allows Cuba to send thousands of doctors to rural and underserved communities across the Global South—something the U.S. has long tried to undermine.

U.S. Chargé d'Affaires to Cuba Mike Hammer was last week in Italy, where he met with Roberto Occhiuto, the governor of the southern region of Calabria. He pushed Occhiuto to end Calabria’s employment of around 500 Cuban doctors. Occhiuto refused.

Jamaica is ending its agreement with Cuban doctors who helped staff hospitals and rural clinics. Cuba’s global medical missions provide revenue for Havana while filling physician shortages abroad. Without them, Jamaica’s rural health system could face major gaps. apnews.com/article/jama...

"Cuba has similarly deployed doctors in poor countries around the world to deliver health care to populations under-supported by multilateral institutions such as the World Bank and bilateral Western aid." foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/26/u...

"In the era of the Donroe Doctrine, which explicitly demands unquestioned U.S. primacy and resource monopolies in the Americas, the persistence of a sovereign, anti-imperialist project just 90 miles from Florida is an intolerable ideological irritant." fpif.org/the-court-th...

With Venezuela destabilized and Maduro removed, Cuba has lost its key trading partner. In the wake of the coup in Venezuela, Washington has moved to intensify pressure on Cuba. 🧵

With Maduro gone and Venezuela’s oil under U.S. "oversight," Mexico is the only thing standing between Cuba and a potential humanitarian collapse. 🇲🇽⚖️🇨🇺

"For decades, the Cuban government has sent thousands of health professionals to work in remote villages and cities in dozens of countries." www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/w...

"Trump’s escalation is the cornerstone of his administration’s “Donroe Doctrine,” a 21st-century revival of the 1823 Monroe Doctrine that declares the whole of Latin America and the Caribbean to be US property." savageminds.substack.com/p/trumps-ult...

Trump has Cuba in his crosshairs. 🇨🇺 Washington is using tariffs to force Mexico to abandon Cuba. By cutting off oil lifelines following the coup in Venezuela, the US is intentionally engineering a humanitarian crisis. Read the full article here: populareducationblog.substack.com/p/trumps-new...

"Since 1960, some 600,000 Cuban medical professionals have provided free health care in over 180 countries. The government of Cuba has assumed the lion’s share of the cost of its medical internationalism, a huge contribution to the Global South" jacobin.com/2025/03/cuba...

Trump’s latest tariff threats put Cuba’s energy lifeline and the island’s economy under renewed strain. With oil shipments threatened, Cuba confronts a looming humanitarian and economic crisis that could rival the 1990s Special Period. populareducationblog.substack.com/p/trumps-new...

"The goal of the US government has been to asphyxiate the Cuban economy as a means of undermining the Cuban Revolution and bullying Cubans into relinquishing their sovereignty and right to self-determination." jacobin.com/2023/06/us-c...

A naval blockade isn't a "measure"—it's an escalation that risks lives and regional stability. The Trump admin is willing to trigger a massive humanitarian crisis just to prove it can control the trade of sovereign nations. www.politico.com/news/2026/01...