GENEVA - The January 2026 executive order issued by the President of the United States imposing a fuel blockade on Cuba amounts to 'energy starvation' with grave consequences for human rights and the country's overall development, UN experts* warned today.
"Cuba has been subjected to energy starvation by the United States, a condition in which the lack of fuel cripples the functioning of essential services required for a dignified life," the experts said. "This unlawful blockade is not only disrupting daily life but also undermining the enjoyment of a wide range of human rights."
They were deeply concerned that this fuel blockade dramatically intensifies the already severe effects of the decades long United States embargo on Cuba. The executive order imposes an additional market value-based duty on imports from any foreign country that directly or indirectly supplies oil to Cuba.
"This measure has sharply worsened fuel shortages across the island, pushing essential services to the brink," the experts said.
They noted that the executive order does not demonstrate how Cuba poses an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to the United States national security.
"While the order references human rights concerns within Cuba, it fails to consider how the measure itself - a unilateral coercive measure - directly harms the enjoyment of human rights of the Cuban people," the experts said.
They highlighted reports that fuel scarcity is preventing people from reaching hospitals and children from attending school. Cuba's health system is reportedly facing a backlog of more than 96,000 pending surgeries - including 11,000 for children - while delays in the National Immunisation Programme have affected thousands of infants.
"By depriving a population of the energy required to run essential services, this executive order is obstructing Cuban people's right to development and undermining their rights to food, education, health, and water and sanitation," the experts said.
"Energy starvation as a coercive tool is incompatible with international human rights norms."
They recalled that they had previously raised concerns regarding the long standing embargo's detrimental effects on the rights to food and an adequate standard of living. The new fuel blockade, they warned, compounds these harms and constitutes a major obstacle to Cuba's development. "The continued unilateral coercive measures also offer an opportunity for Cuba to embrace the path of renewable energy," the experts noted.
They have formally communicated their concerns to the Government of the United States and requested clarification on the legal and factual basis for the executive order, as well as information on measures taken to mitigate its negative human rights impacts.
