US Democrats Criticize Cuba Energy Embargo During Havana Visit
HAVANA- Four Democratic members of the U.S. Congress visiting Cuba criticized the energy embargo imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration, saying the restrictions have deepened the island’s humanitarian and economic crisis and likening the conditions to a “silent Gaza.”
Representatives Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, Teresa Leger-Fernández of New Mexico, Maxine Dexter of Oregon and Delia Catalina Ramírez of Illinois traveled to Cuba last week for meetings with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, government ministers, medical professionals and business leaders during a visit that concluded on Monday.
The lawmakers said the U.S. energy embargo, introduced in January after the capture of then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, had intensified an economic crisis that Cuba has faced for the past five years. The measures included restrictions on fuel supplies to the island and threats of tariffs against countries exporting fuel to Cuba.
According to the delegation, the sanctions have compounded longstanding domestic economic problems, including the effects of monetary reforms and previous U.S. restrictions.
Speaking to reporters in Havana, the lawmakers said there were currently no formal negotiations underway between Washington and Havana aimed at lifting the energy embargo, despite contacts that both governments have previously acknowledged between their officials.
Pocan criticized Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s approach toward Cuba, suggesting policy decisions had become personal rather than professional. Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, began his political career in Miami with support from anti-Castro exile groups.
The lawmakers pointed to the effects of the embargo on daily life across Cuba, including prolonged electricity outages, disruptions to public transportation, flight cancellations, declining tourism, shorter working hours and broader economic paralysis.
Pocan said a Cuban resident had described the situation as a “silent Gaza,” a characterization he said reflected the hardships created by the prolonged shortages. He said that while Cuba was not experiencing active bombardment, many residents struggled to work, preserve food, obtain medicines and maintain normal daily life because of the energy crisis.
Leger-Fernández said she saw no justification for policies that imposed widespread hardship on the Cuban population.
Dexter, a physician, and Ramírez said they would seek legislative amendments in Congress aimed at reducing the humanitarian impact of the sanctions and limiting the executive branch’s ability to take additional unilateral measures affecting Cuba without congressional approval.
The Trump administration and Rubio have argued that economic pressure is intended to weaken Cuba’s communist government, which they accuse of mismanagement and inefficiency. Cuban authorities have consistently condemned the embargo, describing it as collective punishment against the country’s population.
The congressional delegation’s visit marked the second trip by U.S. lawmakers to Cuba in three months, as discussions over the future of U.S.-Cuba relations continue despite the absence of formal bilateral negotiations.