END THE ENERGY BLOCKADE

Webmaster

17 Feb 2026 — 7 min read

On January 29th, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing tariffs on any country that supplies oil to Cuba. Cuba's energy supply had already been greatly diminished by the illegal kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and the US takeover of Venezuela's oil. Trump's new order seems to have been targeted mainly at Mexico, who has been forced to completely stop shipments of oil to Cuba to protect $500 billion of exports to the US market. At home, calls for Canada to send oil to Cuba have been growing but the federal Liberals' response has so far been avoidant and noncommittal. Without oil, Cuba's power grid will collapse, leaving hospitals, schools and homes without electricity. Cuba has been putting in great effort over recent years to become more self-reliant, especially with forms of renewable energy like solar. But this work is far from complete. Trump's order is an act of economic genocide by the United States' government against the people of Cuba. Marco Rubio's recent speech to the Munich Security Council laid out the Trump administration's white supremacist vision of a return to a world before "godless communist revolutions and anti-colonial uprisings" challenged the domination of capital and the so-called West. The present US administration clearly recognizes that the US empire is in decline, but rather than seeking to stabilize international relations through a respect for sovereignty and international law, they have chosen the path of economic coercion and desperate violence. But the Cuban people remain steadfast, unwilling to give up their right to self-determination. They continue to be the example for the rest of the world to follow.

CONDEMNATION OF THE UNITED STATES’ BLOCKADE OF FUEL SUPPLIES TO THE PEOPLE OF CUBA

The Canadian Network on Cuba condemns in the strongest possible terms the imposition by the United States of a total blockade on fuel supplies to Cuba. This reprehensible, illegal, and immoral action constitutes a direct and blatant attack on the Cuban people and is an escalation of decades of economic asphyxiation and sabotage.

US sanctions have obstructed Cuba’s national development and inflicted suffering on ordinary Cubans for over six decades and are roundly condemned by the international community in annual resolutions at the United Nations General Assembly. This unilateral blockade and its many harms have been damningly observed; but the new tariff system and the threat of its naval enforcement marks an unprecedented escalation against the Cuban people, undertaken with explicit intent to plunge Cuba into darkness and to grind its economy to a halt.

Members of the US Congress openly admit that this naval blockade will result in desperate hunger and life-threatening medical shortages, but have made it equally clear that they regard this suffering as necessary to their objective—namely, the removal of Cuba’s leadership by any means. As Florida Representative Carlos Gimenez threatens the Cuban people with “no oil, no travel, no oxygen,” we must speak plainly and as one against the cruelty and aggression to come. The US government has never shied away from economic terrorism in its plans to reconquer Cuba, but the severity of this new strategy threatens the Cuban people with annihilation.

Not only does Trump challenge Cuba’s own right to self-determination; his oil blockade targets sovereign trade with Cuba’s sister nations, as seen in US aggression against Venezuela and tariff threats against Mexico. These coordinated attacks reveal the true significance of Cuba to the region, and the real reason for Trump’s claim that Cuba poses “an unusual and extraordinary threat” to US interests. Cuba’s medical internationalism and peaceful diplomacy are a gift without condition to the peoples of the world, and as the US plots regime change, they as surely mean to challenge all that Cuba stands for and the counter-hegemonic movements that it leads.

The Government of Canada must condemn the US blockade of Cuba and its recent measures as a collective punishment of the Cuban population, sure to result in suffering and death. Furthermore, we demand that Canada cease any military cooperation in the US encirclement, including the deployment of the HMCS Yellowknife on “Operation CARIBBE,” and that our government send immediate humanitarian aid to Cuba without coercive political conditions.

In this moment of emergency, the Canadian Network on Cuba is proud to stand with the Cuban people and with progressive forces the world over against the US far-right and its imperialist aggression in Latin America and the Caribbean. For more than sixty years, Cuba has demonstrated the meaning of true independence and internationalism to the world. Now is the time for all peace-loving people to apply these lessons, and to demand as one: LET CUBA LIVE!

Executive Committee,
Canadian Network on Cuba

CUBA NEEDS YOU!

What Can You Do?

SIGN OUR PETITION!

Help us reach 10,000 signatures on our petition to Parliament! Tell the government that the peoples of Canada stand with Cuba!

Sign your name here.

HELP SEND URGENTLY NEEDED POWER SUPPLIES TO CUBA!

E-transfer to donate@canadiannetworkoncuba.ca
In the message section, please note your first and last name, and your email address.

Cheques payable to:

Canadian Network on Cuba
PO Box 99051 – 1245 Dupont St.
Toronto, ON
M6H 4H7

CALL YOUR MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT

Find the contact for your MP here. Then call them to let them know that people living in Canada stand with Cuba!

Not sure what to say? Try this:

I am your constituent and I'm calling to tell you that Canada must support Latin American sovereignty. Canada must defy Trump's sanctions and support Cuba with emergency humanitarian aid. People are going to die if we don't step in.

Canada must develop an independent foreign policy of peace and cooperation with Latin America. Cuba and Canada have had unbroken relations for more than 80 years, but our support means nothing if we stay silent in times of real need. I hope you'll do the right thing.

JOIN A CNC MEMBER GROUP

Find a Cuba solidarity organization in your city here. Reach out to them to see when their next event is taking place, or to see how you can get involved.

FEBRUARY 21: NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION!

Join us in Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver for our National Day of Action against the genocidal economic war against the Cuban people!

Saturday, February 21st!

In Toronto: 1pm at the US Consulate 361 University Ave
In Winnipeg: 1pm at the US Consulate 201 Portage Ave
In Edmonton: 1pm at Whyte Ave and 104th St.
In Vancouver: 1:30pm at Library Plaza 300 W Georgia St

Holding an event in your city? Let us know! Send the details to webmaster@canadiannetworkoncuba.ca

PEOPLE'S TRIBUNAL

Sunday, February 22nd, is our People's Tribunal at the United Steelworkers Hall (25 Cecil Street) in Toronto. We, the people, charge the United States with violations of Cuban sovereignty and universal human rights! Join the event in person if you're in Toronto, or watch a livestream through the Canadian Network on Cuba Facebook page.

CHE BRIGADE IS GOING FORWARD!

This year's Che Guevara Voluntary Work Brigade has taken on a whole new level of importance. Be a part of this historical brigade to show the Cuban people that we stand with them and recognize their struggle as the world's most profound example of international solidarity and socio-economic justice in the face of ravenous imperialism!

Visit the Che Brigade website for more info.