The lawyer Luis Carlos Battista from FitzGeorge Law warned this Thursday that the sanction by Marco Rubio against CUPET could be "the final blow" to the regime, as the Cuban civilian population is already facing blackouts of up to 40 hours and an unprecedented drinking water crisis.
Battista made these statements in an interview with Tania Costa for CiberCuba, just hours after the U.S. Secretary of State announced the inclusion of the Cuban state oil company on the sanctions list under Executive Order 14404, signed by President Donald Trump on May 1.
"From a somewhat human perspective, beyond the legal aspect: What happens to the civilian population that is witnessing their quality of life decline more and more?" the lawyer posed.
Battista described the situation as "unsustainable for both the Cuban government and the American government," arguing that a humanitarian crisis 90 miles from U.S. territory is not in the best interest of either side.
One of the most critical points highlighted by the lawyer is the impact on essential services that the Cuban state cannot delegate to the private sector: the pumping of drinking water and the operation of ambulances.
That void is neither new nor accidental. Since the general license was authorized in February 2026 — officially approved on March 1st — small and medium-sized private businesses in Cuba were never allowed to sell fuel for water trucks or ambulances, uses that were expressly reserved for the State and excluded from the license.
"MIPYMES are importing oil, providing services, and still selling food, but what is happening, for example, with the water pumping for the civilian population?" Battista asked.
The sanction against CUPET now halts the shipments that were conducted under that general license, worsening a humanitarian situation that was already critical.
At the end of May, the water supply system was operating with only 37% of the required fuel, nearly three million people faced daily water shortages, and only 18.3% of the population received drinking water every day.
Battista notes that Rubio's measure is aimed at "completely encircling any participation of the Cuban state," although he warned that from a legal standpoint, that is not entirely possible.
"We cannot return to a primitive community where there is no state anywhere in the world," he said.
The lawyer also raised the legal question about the consequences for SMEs that have sold fuel to the Cuban state in violation of the license conditions.
"The first thing is that it is violating part of American law," he replied, citing photographic evidence published by 14yMedio, although he clarified that he did not want to generalize: "One cannot lump the innocent in with the guilty."
The sanction against CUPET was the second major action under Executive Order 14404, following the prior sanction against the military conglomerate GAESA, and it blocks all assets and interests of the state-owned enterprise under U.S. jurisdiction.
The Cuban regime's Minister of Energy admitted on May 14 that the country had "absolutely no fuel, no diesel."
"This, if we were talking about a solution for the Cuban problem tomorrow, wouldn’t have much relevance, but since this seems to be a long-term issue, it would be the final blow," concluded Battista.
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