Reps. Delia Ramírez, Teresa Leger-Fernández, Mark Pocan, and Maxine Dexter spent several days meeting with Cuban officials, civil society leaders, and medical professionals. They painted a picture of a nation crippled by power outages, severe shortages of food and medicine, and a crumbling public infrastructure. The delegation described the atmosphere in Havana as a 'silent Gaza,' where the lack of fuel and essential supplies has effectively paralyzed daily life for the average citizen.
The Human Cost of Economic Pressure
Dr. Maxine Dexter, a member of the delegation, warned that the island’s universal healthcare system is buckling under the weight of these restrictions. The blockade has reportedly left 96,000 people, including 11,000 children, waiting for surgeries that hospitals can no longer perform due to the scarcity of anesthetics and consumables. Rep. Leger-Fernández cited a sharp rise in infant mortality rates, which she claims have climbed from 4 to 9.9 per 1,000 live births in recent years.
The Trump administration continues to justify these measures by labeling Cuba an 'extraordinary' threat to national security, citing alleged foreign military intelligence gathering. However, the Cuban government, led by President Miguel Díaz-Canel, views the latest sanctions—which now threaten foreign banks and insurers with penalties—as a campaign of economic warfare. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla condemned the move as a 'genocidal design' intended to punish the entire population, as the US continues to restrict the country’s access to global energy and trade markets.
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