'Children Are Dying': UN Human Rights Chief Demands Trump End Economic Assault on Cuba
"The fuel restrictions imposed since early 2026 and recent tightening of extraterritorial sanctions, taken together, are directly harming Cubans, especially the most vulnerable," said Volker Türk.
The United Nations' top human rights official on Monday implored the Trump administration to immediately lift its oil embargo and economic sanctions on Cuba as the island faces a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian emergency, with dire fuel shortages causing rolling blackouts, disrupting food supplies, and buckling hospitals.
“The fuel restrictions imposed since early 2026 and recent tightening of extraterritorial sanctions, taken together, are directly harming Cubans, especially the most vulnerable," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in a statement. "Children are dying because doctors lack access to essential medical supplies and medicines. This is unacceptable. These sanctions must be lifted immediately."
Türk noted that key medical services on the island—including oncology and maternal health—have been severely damaged by US economic warfare this year and over the past decade, causing infant mortality to surge and childhood cancer survival rates to fall, among other impacts. The UN rights chief's office noted that "essential medicines are in critical short supply, with supply levels down to about 30%."
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel acknowledged the shortages in an interview released Monday, saying that "we have very effective programs to care for children with cancer; today, these programs are limited by a shortage of medications and supplies, and as a result, the survival rates of these children with cancer are declining."
In his Monday statement, Türk also pointed to the sanctions' impact on the island's food supply, much of which is imported. Fuel shortages caused by US President Donald Trump's embargo—imposed in late January following his administration's abduction of Venezuela's president—have led to "a reported 60% decrease in food production and spikes in the costs of basic food items," according to the UN.
"Such severe sanctions packages that target entire sectors of an economy and produce broad, indiscriminate, and harsh effects on populations are incompatible with basic principles of international human rights law,” said Türk. "Cuba faces increasing isolation. Companies are leaving. Fewer airlines fly to the country. It is almost disconnected from international payment systems. Rising summer temperatures risk increasing the spread of vector-borne and waterborne diseases. The hurricane season further increases exposure."
"This creates a perfect storm for social and economic deterioration and suffering for the Cuban people," he warned.
The UN official's statement came amid fears that the Trump administration is preparing for a military assault on Cuba, which the US president has repeatedly threatened in the months following the illegal bombing and invasion of Venezuela.
"Cuba is next, by the way," Trump said in late March.
Politico reported in late May that the Pentagon is putting "building blocks in place" for an invasion of Cuba, "positioning the troops and weapons needed for the US to launch a military attack."
"All it needs is a final go-ahead from Donald Trump," the outlet reported.
The US military buildup and escalating economic warfare have led Democratic lawmakers to call for swift passage of a war powers resolution to prevent Trump from launching yet another military operation without congressional approval.
"Trump's belligerent foreign policy is creating new wars and conflicts across the world. As our country is already embroiled in a new war with Iran, the president has now set his sights on regime change in Cuba,” Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), a lead sponsor of the resolution, said last month. "This administration is rushing toward another disastrous war, putting countless American and foreign lives at risk."
