Since the Cuban revolution there has been a US embargo of goods and services to Cuba in an attempt to bring the new Castro government to its knees.
In 60+ years this dynamite plan has done little to end the current admin on the island nation.
Plus the cost of this plan is in the billions per year….that’s right I wrote….BILLIONS.
The Trump Administration’s indictment of former Cuban President Raúl Castro, the deployment of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier and warships, and recent measures pressuring countries not to supply oil to Cuba are all intended to force regime change on the island. These policies are part of the United States’ long-standing campaign against the Cuban government, codified in 1962 with the U.S. embargo on Cuba, and have created what could be described as Cuba’s “New Special Period,” comparable to the original “Special Period” in the 1990s after the loss of support from the Soviet Union. The Cuban revolution against the U.S.-backed Batista dictatorship has survived 64 of its 67 years under what U.S. officials call an “embargo.” Cubans call it “el bloqueo” (the blockade), arguing that its impact has been just as physically isolating as a military blockade. Suffering aside, the amount of money that the United States has spent on enforcing this policy of economic isolation—the longest blockade in history—could instead have been used to address pressing social needs throughout the United States. This raises the question: Was the blockade worth the cost? And if so, for whom?
According to Doctors Without Borders’ “The Practical Guide to Humanitarian Law,” a blockade is an act of war that seeks to isolate an adversary, disrupt economic activity, and prevent the movement of vital supplies. Under an embargo, a country prohibits its own companies or subsidiaries from engaging in business with another country, rather than interfering with third parties. Through what is essentially a broader economic blockade, the United States has intermittently prevented Cuba from commerce with other nations. As President Donald Trump has become even more strident, the United Nations has criticized his administration’s policy of imposing tariffs on any country that sends oil to Cuba as a serious violation of international law. Earlier this year, a military blockade was evident as “the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted a tanker full of Colombian fuel oil en route to Cuba within 70 miles of the island,” according to the New York Times. The U.S. government knows that a blockade is an act of war, according to Connecticut.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/08/06/the-costs-of-the-us-blockade-on-cuba/
This whole big idea is about as successful as our idiotic war on drugs…..waste of time, effort and money.
I hope Cuba is keeping an eye on what Donny and the Boyz are planning.
What about the newest thing about Cuba?
The Cold War is getting a quiet sequel in the Caribbean, reports the New York Times. The CIA has formed a classified Cuba task force aimed at stepping up pressure on Havana to make economic, political, and leadership changes sought by US President Trump, according to officials briefed on the move. The unit is pulling in case officers, analysts, cyber specialists, and covert influence operators, and is backed by a broader intelligence shift that just elevated Cuba to a top-tier US spying priority alongside China, Iran, and Russia, the sources say.
Unlike the CIA’s Bay of Pigs-era task force, this one isn’t authorized to train armed proxies or run lethal missions. Its goal, sources say, is to expose and exploit fractures within Cuba’s ruling elite and encourage the rise of leaders more open to Washington’s demands. Cuban officials, for their part, denounce the effort as familiar “espionage, subversion and destabilization.” Adam Entous’ piece in the Times traces how this new campaign grew out of past cooperation, Trump’s hard line, and the administration’s broader regional strategy—read the full article for more. Sources who spoke to Politico similarly say the Trump administration is pushing for Cuba’s communist regime to fall entirely, or reform.
Like I said….Cuba in the crosshairs.
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
The treatment of Cuba has been a complete disgrace for America. And now they have the Cuban-heritage toad Rubio in government, I suspect it is going to get much nastier.
Best wishes, Pete.
If Little Marco has his way he wants revenge…..sad case and a total waste. chuq
I have never understood this obsession with Cuba. It isn’t just Trump. This goes back decades. We do business, a lot of business, with countries that are military dictatorships, outright communists, etc. all the time. A lot of business with them. We don’t seem to have any problem at all dealing with Vietnam despite our history with that country. We do hundreds of billions of dollars of business with China every year. The list goes on and on.
But Cuba? An utterly insignificant island with a population not much more than New York City, and about the same land area as the state of Virginia, with almost no natural resources, with almost no manufacturing capabilities, where the majority of people live in poverty, is somehow some kind of dire threat to us?
Could someone please explain this to me?
GF I do not think there is an adequate explanation. In the 60s I can understand a bit because of the closeness but after that it is just a waste. chuq
Chuq is right, there really is no adequate explanation. It’s nonsensical.
However, I’ll dare to get inside the heads of these people. This American mentality goes all the way back to the Monroe Doctrine which declared that the U.S. would have hegemony over the western hemisphere in exchange for staying out of the eastern hemisphere. It satisfied both the militarists (who are always pushing for war and conquest) and the isolationists (who want no U.S. involvement in foreign wars).
Fast-forward to the Cold War. The Truman Doctrine modified that geopolitical paradigm by declaring that the U.S. would come to the aid of other nations threatened by authoritarian aggressors (a euphemism for the communist USSR and Red China).
As “president,” and I use that term loosely, Trump is constantly being pushed by those same basic forces. Think of geopolitics as a high-stakes chess game between very powerful players. And, Trump – ever the opportunist – is constantly looking to enrich himself or to gain some other advantage. To him, Cuba is simply an insignificant pawn. The plight of its people is irrelevant. Geopolitics is inherently sociopathic and sometimes even psychopathic.
Hope that helps.