Ben Rhodes, former Deputy National Security Advisor to former U.S. President Barack Obama and one of the architects of the normalization of relations between the United States and Cuba, described the situation on the island last Friday as the worst humanitarian crisis in its history, in an interview published by the media The Bulwark.
Rhodes explained that the logic behind Obama's policy was that opening Cuba to American tourism and investment would generate an organic change in Cuban society. "Our bet was: you open this up, let Americans travel there, let them invest there, and this place just 90 miles from Florida is going to change. The lives of Cubans will improve," he stated.
The former official noted that Trump systematically reversed that openness in terms of travel and investments, although he kept the embassies open and maintained formal diplomatic relations.
Then he directed a direct criticism at Joe Biden, whom he described as a "coward" for not reversing Trump's policy towards Cuba, attributing this inaction to fear of criticism from then-Senator Bob Menéndez. "Somehow, we ended up with Trump's policy during Joe Biden's administration," Rhodes said, mocking Menéndez as "that great moral arbiter," in reference to his subsequent conviction for corruption.
Menéndez was found guilty in July 2024 on 16 counts of corruption, including acting as an agent for Egypt, and sentenced to 11 years in prison in January 2025.
Rhodes was emphatic in describing the current consequences: "Cubans are suffering more than ever in their history." He attributed this situation to both the accumulated sanctions and the fuel blockade imposed by the Trump administration during its second term.
"There are people dying because of those sanctions," he stated. "When the electricity goes out, babies in neonatal care and patients on ventilators die in hospitals. There is extreme malnutrition in Cuba. It is a truly serious humanitarian situation at this moment."
The energy crisis described by Rhodes has concrete figures. The Executive Order 14380, signed by Trump on January 29, 2026, imposed tariffs on countries that sell oil to Cuba, which reduced the supply by approximately 90%. Díaz-Canel himself confirmed in early March that Cuba had received zero oil shipments for three consecutive months.
Blackouts have been extending up to 30 hours daily, with electrical deficits of up to 1,885 megawatts recorded in 2026. The collapse has directly impacted the hospital system. The UN reported on April 11 that there are 96,000 pending surgeries on the island, including 11,000 for children.
The same organization expressed "great concern" in February 2026 about the risk of a total humanitarian collapse in Cuba, while the Trump administration has imposed over 240 sanctions on the regime since January 2025.
However, this scenario is compounded by a sustained tightening of internal repression and the regime's lack of willingness to promote structural changes in the political and economic system. Various human rights organizations have documented an increase in arbitrary detentions, the criminalization of protest, and the systematic use of imprisonment as a tool for social control.
In 2026, the number of political prisoners exceeds 1,200, with reports documenting more than 3,000 repressive actions in a single year, including arrests, threats, and surveillance against citizens, activists, and journalists. Recent reports also indicate that detentions frequently occur without a judicial order, accompanied by enforced silence and a lack of procedural guarantees.
Far from creating opportunities for reform, the government has responded to the growing social discontent by reinforcing the repressive apparatus, which even affects minors and individuals without political affiliation. Analysts and NGOs agree that this strategy highlights the system's immobility and the refusal to implement deep changes amid an escalating crisis.
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