Berlin, Germany (Weltexpress). Will Cuba become the battleground for the next US war of aggression in violation of international law? The White House has already ordered preparations to that effect. Military planning is underway behind the scenes, while sanctions and the blockade are increasing the pressure. International criticism of Washington’s course is growing.
Nearly three months have passed since U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. Navy to block shipping to and from Cuban ports. He ordered this blockade quietly, without his usual bombastic announcements—no statement, no prior discussion with the Senate. He simply acted, as is his “autocratic nature,” according to the Washington Post.
In fact, since early February 2026, the U.S. Coast Guard has been stopping oil tankers en route to the Caribbean island. Protests against this flagrant U.S. violation of freedom of navigation have so far been absent from the U.S.’s European vassals. All the louder, however, is the Europeans’ outcry against Iran for obstructing freedom of navigation, because the victim of the brutal, unprovoked American-Zionist war of aggression is defending itself in its hour of need by closing the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s intention behind this was to exert pressure on the aggressor clique in Washington through the oil and gas producers on the Arabian Peninsula affected by the closure, as well as through the U.S. allies affected by the lack of energy supplies, in order to prevent even worse outcomes—such as a global economy plunging into depression.
The pinnacle of US hypocrisy was reached last week. While the White House tramples on and mocks the freedom of international navigation off the coast of Cuba, it invokes the very same freedom of navigation to demand that Iran lift its partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Only ships from the U.S., Israel, and other U.S. allies or supporters of the U.S. war of aggression—which violates international law—are barred from passing through. And now Washington wants to force Iran to open the strait so that the warships of the U.S. aggressor can also pass through.
To exert even more pressure on Iran, the president of the world’s largest rogue state has also ordered a naval blockade of all Iranian ports and has already fired on an Iranian merchant ship and seized it in a pirate-like manner. All of this took place as a backdrop to the second planned round of U.S.-Iranian peace negotiations in Pakistan, which promptly fell through, because no one who truly wants peace behaves like the lawless U.S. pirate regime, which is already planning another military campaign in the Caribbean: against Cuba.
Following the violent and very bloody abduction of Venezuela’s democratically elected President Nicolás Maduro to an American prison in New York and following the US-Zionist war of aggression against Iran—which violated international law—Trump himself bluntly stated: “Cuba is next […] Whether I liberate it or take it—I think I can do whatever I want with it,” he is reported to have told reporters. At the same time, there are US media reports such as this one: “Pentagon accelerates military planning against Cuba in case Trump orders an intervention,” as Trump reportedly said that “the US could stop by the island.” As reported on April 15, 2026, citing the websitewww.aa.com.tr, which in turn cited USA Today.
Under the leadership of its chief, Pete Hegseth, who has appointed himself the “Minister of War” of the U.S., the Pentagon now appears to be operating according to the former German maxim from the period before World War I, namely, “Many foes, much honor.” According to credible reports, Washington no longer intends to wait for the naval blockade established around Cuba with U.S. warships to bring about a government overthrow in Havana; instead, it aims to accelerate regime change on the island through targeted military measures.
Since the start of the U.S. blockade, only one ship—a Russian tanker carrying just under 730,000 barrels of crude oil—was able to enter a Cuban port unhindered on March 31. For the Cuban population, it was merely a respite in a fuel crisis. This is nothing new in Cuba, which has suffered for decades under US sanctions of all kinds, except that this time the fuel crisis is particularly severe and is occurring alongside other acute economic problems affecting not only Cuba but currently other countries of the Global South as well.
The visible consequences of the current crisis in Cuba are dramatic: nationwide blackouts, empty gas stations, collapsing power grids, and a healthcare system on the brink of collapse. The “2026 Cuban Crisis,” as it is already referred to in the U.S. propaganda database Wikipedia, is not a natural disaster, but the result of a deliberate U.S. policy. On January 29, Trump issued an executive order declaring Cuba an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security.
The justification for the blockade was: Cuba’s alleged espionage cooperation with Russia and China, as well as support for “hostile players.” This is, of course, a flimsy accusation that makes just as little sense as all the previous allegations with which successive U.S. presidents sought to justify their criminal actions—which violate international law—to their own people and, internationally, to their vassals. Professor William LeoGrande, an academic expert on intelligence services at American University, described Trump’s accusation against Cuba as very flimsy: “If espionage alone were enough to justify a war, the world would be constantly at war—because everyone spies on everyone else.”
According toThe Atlantic, in parallel with its war preparations, the White House is reportedly exploring, in talks with the family of former Cuban President Raúl Castro, the possibility of allegedly “moderate” forces that the Americans want to bring to power in Havana in order to install a more compliant regime there that serves U.S. interests.
Critics of Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Cuba have long been calling it a “war crime.” The U.S. sanctions and the fuel blockade are viewed as collective punishment of the civilian population—a violation of the Geneva Conventions. A commentary in the Los Angeles Times states: “This is not a step toward ending the blockade, but the continuation of a policy that leaves civilians starving and dying.” Critics of the administration, such as David Adler of “Progressive International,” warn: “This is no drill. Trump is preparing another illegal war against Cuba to appease the Miami Mafia.” On X (formerly Twitter), the blockade is denounced as “economic bombardment” and an “act of war.” Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal and 50 other members of Congress called in a letter to Trump for an end to the “failed policy” against Cuba, which is exacerbating a humanitarian catastrophe. For more details, see:commondreams.org .
Cuba itself is attempting to counter this with limited reforms: Cuban exiles will be allowed to own real estate and businesses on the island in the future. However, U.S. sanctions effectively prevent any investment. U.S. experts point to Venezuela as an example: even oil companies hesitate to invest in a country whose future is uncertain. Instead of genuine democracy, Trump apparently supports compliant autocrats.
International opposition is growing. In a joint statement, Mexico, Spain, and Brazil are calling for “sincere dialogue” to end the humanitarian crisis in Cuba. China has pledged aid and condemned the “inhumane measures.” Russia has taken a particularly clear stance. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated on the sidelines of talks with Xi Jinping: “Of course, we support Cuba, just as the People’s Republic of China does—politically at the United Nations and other forums, economically, and humanitarianly. We have sent the first tanker with 100,000 tons of oil and will continue to provide aid.” He warned against a return to “colonial wars” and emphasized that it was not Cuba that had refused dialogue, but Washington. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added: “Moscow is ready to provide Havana with every possible support.” Russia views the blockade as an attack on its allies and is coordinating a counterstrategy with Beijing. (See the interview with Sergei Lavrov on this topic on YouTube).
The historical parallel is unmistakable: Since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, Washington has been trying to stifle the socialist experiment 90 miles off the coast of Florida. Under Obama, there was a cautious opening; Trump reversed it; Biden largely left it as is. Now comes the radicalization. The “maximum pressure” strategy—allegedly tested successfully against Iran and Venezuela—is now intended to push back Russia and China’s spheres of influence in the Western Hemisphere. Yet it produces only chaos and human suffering: thousands of Cubans are fleeing, the economy is in ruins, and the regime is hardening its stance.
Critics like Professor LeoGrande warn: Following the disasters in Iraq and Afghanistan, a U.S. military intervention would find few supporters. The U.S. public no longer wants to impose democracy “at gunpoint” on other countries, the professor says. Instead, Trump risks exactly what he purports to be fighting: instability, influx of refugees, and a strengthening of anti-American alliances in Latin America. While the blockade creates short-term pressure within and on Cuba, in the long term it is more likely to stabilize the regime than to topple it.
In fact, Trump’s policies are eroding what little credibility America has left as a defender of justice and freedom. Whether Cuba is truly “next” in line, however, will depend not only on Trump’s whims, but mainly on the outcome of the U.S.-Zionist war against Iran—a war Washington has already lost, even if it refuses to admit the facts. The credibility of the former global soft power of U.S. foreign policy is gone. The U.S. is now seen worldwide, without any sugarcoating, as a brutal hegemon that preaches democracy while simultaneously using hunger as a weapon against entire peoples. Russia, China, and the BRICS are doing their part to remind the world that imperial aggression has consequences.
