On Feb. 12, a group of United Nations special rapporteurs and other independent experts published a harsh rebuke of Donald Trump’s Jan. 29 Executive Order that declared that the “practices and actions of the Government of Cuba constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat” to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. Citing Cuba’s relations with “malign actors” like the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China, Trump used this alleged threat to justify cutting off all oil supplies to Cuba, threatening to impose high tariffs on any country that sells it oil. The results have been catastrophic for the Caribbean nation which is being asphyxiated Gaza style.
A press release published on the website of the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) reports the rapporteurs’ warning that interfering with fuel imports would lead to a severe humanitarian crisis “with knock-on effects for essential services.” Shortages of essential goods may amount to the “collective punishment of civilians.” Fuel is essential for electricity generation, water and sanitation systems, hospitals, public transportation and food production. The deliberate cutoff of fuel “raises serious concerns under international human rights law.”
