The Government of the USA formalized this Thursday a new posture of confrontation towards the cuban regime through the signing of an executive order by the president Donald Trump.
The document declares a national emergency, considering that Havana’s policies and actions represent an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to national security and US foreign policy.
This measure, which goes into effect at 12:01 am on January 30, 2026, seeks to economically suffocate the island following the interruption of the supply of Venezuelan crude oil following the capture of Nicolás Maduro in November 2025.
The mechanism of economic and tariff pressure
The new administration strategy trump consists of the implementation of a system of additional ad valorem tariffs on imports of goods from any nation that, directly or indirectly, sells or provides oil to Cuba.
The order specifies that indirect provision includes the use of intermediaries or third countries that have knowledge of the final destination of the cargo.
The execution of this policy involves key figures in the US cabinet. Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, will be responsible for monitoring and determining which countries supply crude oil to the island, and then report his findings to Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
Later, Rubio will have the authority to recommend the magnitude of the additional tax that will be applied to the products of these nations, with the aim of holding the regime responsible for its international alliances.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla used his social networks to condemn in the strongest terms what he described as a new escalation that proposes imposing a total blockade on fuel supplies.
National security and international ties
Washington justifies this escalation by arguing that cuba facilitates the establishment of sophisticated military and intelligence capabilities on its territory.
According to the official document, the island hosts Russia’s largest overseas signals intelligence facility and maintains deep defense cooperation with the People’s Republic of China.
Furthermore, the US administration maintains that the regime allows groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah to use its environment to build economic and security ties aimed at destabilizing the Western hemisphere.
“Cuba will not be able to survive,” the US president told the press, adding that the word drown is “very harsh,” but ensuring that the Caribbean country is “a failed nation.”
Trump has maintained that the Cuban government’s days are numbered and that the end of the flow of oil will cause a regime change in a nation affected by a serious economic an
On the other hand, an inquiry of The New York Times revealed that Cuba has been reselling part of Venezuelan oil to China to obtain foreign currency due to the decline in tourism and remittances.
The economic impact of these sanctions could be devastating. according to a study provided to the agency EFE According to economist Miguel Alejandro Hayes, a 30% drop in fuel availability would translate into a 27% reduction in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and a 60% increase in food prices.
In addition, Cuban thermoelectric plants, which supply 65% of the country’s fuel, are obsolete with more than four decades of operation, according to figures from the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) of Cuba.
