Starving Cuba: When Sanctions Become Collective Punishment (Global Connections)

Duration: 5:00 754 transcript words EN summary

Video summary

The episode of Global Connections titled "Starving Cuba: When Sanctions Become Collective Punishment" argues that the United States' current policy toward Cuba has evolved from pressuring a government into inflicting severe suffering on approximately ten million ordinary citizens. Since January 2026, Washington implemented a fuel blockade against an island nation heavily reliant on imported oil, leading to a complete depletion of diesel and fuel supplies by May. This crisis resulted in widespread blackouts in Havana lasting up to twenty-two hours daily and culminated in the total collapse of the national power grid on September 18th. The human toll is described as catastrophic, with the UN Human Rights Chief warning that children are dying because medical professionals cannot access essential medicines, while failing water and power systems have triggered a rise in intestinal illnesses. The transcript highlights that these sanctions effectively punish the population rather than the leadership, cutting off Cubans from the global economy by forcing foreign banks to sever ties and suspending Visa and Mastercard transactions. Consequently, thousands of shipping containers filled with food and medicine remain stranded in Caribbean ports, unable to reach those who need them most. Financial restrictions have also halted remittances sent by relatives abroad, causing immediate and painful hardship for families dependent on this income. The show emphasizes that while the government leaders are least affected by these measures, the ordinary people bear the brunt of the damage, with hospitals, water pumps, and food refrigeration systems failing due to the lack of electricity. Critics featured in the discussion question whether such actions constitute justified foreign policy or merely a moral outrage that fails to achieve its stated goals. The video asserts that sixty years of embargo have not brought about regime change or reforms; instead, the resulting hardship allows the Cuban government to blame Washington for its own inadequacies. With the power grid collapsing for the eighth time in 2026 alone, there is little sign of progress toward the changes Trump reportedly seeks. The narrative concludes that holding Havana accountable does not require starving millions of people, especially given that Cuba poses no threat to the United States. Ultimately, the program characterizes these aggressive attacks as a political distraction and an embarrassment, calling for a smarter policy that directs pressure specifically at leadership while allowing humanitarian aid, fuel, and family remittances to flow freely.

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Aloha, welcome to Global Connections on Think Tech Hawaii. The title of this episode, usually hosted by Jay Fidel and Rup Mati Kandandyar, is starving Cuba. When sanctions become collective punishment, America's Cuba policy is cruel, costly, and counterproductive. For this show, we are stepping in for them. Trump's policy toward Cuba has gone beyond pressuring a government he doesn't like. It is now punishing some 10 million ordinary people in Cuba. Since January 2026, Washington has run a fuel blockade on an island that relies on imported oil. By May, Cuba had run out of diesel and fuel oil and parts of Havana had blackouts of up to 22 hours a day. Trump's actions are destroying Cuba and frankly, we don't know why he wants to do this. On September 18th, the national grid collapsed completely. The human cost and the cost in lives is clear. The UN human rights chief, Vulkar Turk, warned that children are dying because doctors can't get essential medicines. Even the US embassy issued a health warning about rising intestinal illness as water and power systems are failing. >> Thousands of shipping containers of food and medicine are stuck in Caribbean ports and can't reach Cuba. Financial sanctions also forced Cuba to suspend Visa and Mastercard transactions. UN experts call this the coercion of a sovereign state, clearly affecting Cuba's sovereignty. Does international law permit him to do this? >> This is just collective and brutal punishment of Cuba's people. You can criticize Havana's leaders if you want, but you don't have to starve its people. This disastrous policy is a complete and unnecessary moral outrage. Is this justified? Is this good foreign policy? Is this who we are? >> Here are some questions that come to mind. Question. Who actually pays the price? The damage the people are suffering as a result of the fuel blockade? >> Ordinary Cubans do, not the government. When the grid went down completely on September 18th, more than 9 million people lost power. Hospitals, water pumps, and food refrigeration all run on electricity. So, the government's leaders are the people least affected. >> Question: Is collective punishment a fair description or is it rhetoric? >> It gets harder to call it rhetoric when children are dying. UN Human Rights Chief Vulkar Turk said doctors cannot get essential medicines and called for the sanctions to be lifted immediately. When a whole population suffers for governmental decisions it had no part in making the phrase fits. >> Question. Has the pressure moved Havana any closer to reforming the things Trump apparently objects to? >> There's no sign of it. 60 years of embargo have not brought down the regime and hardship just helps the government blame Washington for its own inadequacies. The grid failure in September was Cuba's eighth total collapse of 2026. that shows a lot of damage and very little change. >> Question, how do financial sanctions reach everyday life of ordinary citizens in Cuba? >> They cut people off from the world. Cuba suspended Visa and Mastercard transactions after US sanctions pushed foreign banks to break their ties. Within 2 months, the country had also lost its channels for money sent home by relatives abroad. Cuban families who depend on that money felt it first and quite painfully. >> Question. What would a better, smarter, more humane US Cuba policy look like? >> If there is to be such a policy, it should be directed at the leadership, not the people. That means letting fuel, food, medicine, and humanitarian aid through. Keeping the money from families abroad flowing and tying actions to specific and defensible reforms. Holding Havana accountable doesn't require starving millions of people. Keep in mind that Cuba is actually no threat to the US. Trump's Cuba policy is a disaster and his attacks against Cuba are an embarrassment. As so many other things, it is just another of his many political distractions. >> Okay, thanks. We'll have to leave it there for now. The title of this episode in our Global Connection series is Starving Cuba: When Sanctions Become Collective Punishment. Thanks to our viewers for watching and for considering the views expressed in this ThinkTech talk show. Yes, ThinkTech Hawaii. Raising public awareness on the things that count. We'll see you again soon for the next one. Aloha. >> Yes, sir. I believe in the Constitution, the rule of law, and ThinkTech Hawaii in its efforts to raise public awareness in these difficult and unpredictable times.