The US blockade of Cuba is unjust economic warfare that must be resisted through international solidarity
Source: Helen Yaffe. "Defend Cuba From US Efforts to Crush It." March 13, 2026. jacobin.com
The Gist
The author argues that the US is using economic warfare to try to destroy Cuba's socialist government, causing real humanitarian harm to ordinary Cubans. She believes the international community should help Cuba resist this pressure because Cuba represents an important example of a small country standing up to imperial power and achieving social progress.
Conclusion
The international community should provide practical solidarity to help Cuba resist US economic warfare and preserve its socialist system
Premises
- Trump's oil blockade is causing immediate humanitarian crises in Cuba, affecting hospitals, schools, water systems, and basic services
- The US embargo is the longest and most extensive system of unilateral sanctions in modern history, costing Cuba over $170 billion cumulatively
- US policy explicitly aims at regime change through economic warfare, as documented in the 1960 Mallory memorandum calling for 'hunger, desperation and overthrow of government'
- Cuba has demonstrated that a small nation can achieve remarkable gains in education, healthcare, social justice, and international solidarity despite imperial pressure
- Cuba's resistance to US hegemony and support for Global South liberation movements makes it symbolically important for 85% of the world's population
- The renewed aggression reveals a declining US empire desperate to crush alternatives to preserve its dominance
- Cuba is developing renewable energy infrastructure and has survived previous crises, showing the resilience of its revolutionary system
Assumptions
- Economic sanctions that cause humanitarian suffering are inherently unjust
- Small nations have the right to self-determination and to choose their own political systems
- Cuba's socialist achievements outweigh any systemic flaws
- US motivations are primarily about maintaining imperial dominance rather than human rights concerns
- International solidarity can effectively counter US economic pressure