Cuba Study Group, a non-partisan organization based in Washington D.C. made up primarily of Cuban-American leaders, issued a policy statement urging both the Trump administration and the Cuban government to dismantle the barriers that prevent humanitarian aid from reaching those who need it most on the island.
The document, released at the end of August, describes the humanitarian emergency in Cuba as “an alarming stage,” characterized by chronic power outages, fuel shortages, and a lack of food and medicine. The critical situation overwhelms families and halts the work of churches, humanitarian organizations, and private companies.
"Humanitarian assistance should never be used as a bargaining chip," the group warns in its statement. "We urge both governments to act immediately so that sanctions and bureaucratic obstacles no longer hinder the urgent relief needed by the Cuban people."
Among the measures the group requests from Washington is the establishment of a humanitarian exception that would allow private importers to sell light fuel to hospitals and state medical centers in Cuba for electricity generation.
The central argument is that the Cuban health system is state-run, so excluding its institutions from the existing authorizations effectively prevents assistance from reaching the centers where most Cubans receive medical care.
"Energy is essential for almost every humanitarian activity on the island. Hospitals need electricity; water must be pumped; medications and food require refrigeration," the document states.
The group also requests the exemption of sanctions and secondary economic measures for fuel donations from third countries, always with safeguards against diversion.
Ricardo Herrero, executive director of the Cuba Study Group, proposed a concrete mechanism to prevent abuses. "If the concern is that the Cuban government will seize fuel shipments and, instead of distributing them to those in need, sell them for foreign currency, the United States could allow the shipments and then impose secondary sanctions on the buyers of any resold fuel."
In medical matters, the group requests to replace the specific licensing requirements from the Department of Commerce for donations of medications and equipment with a broad general license that also covers payments, logistics, installation, and maintenance.
It also calls on the Department of the Treasury to issue clear guidance and "safe harbor" protections so that U.S. banks can operate with authorized Cuban entrepreneurs, churches, and aid groups, aimed at establishing "a formal and functional cross-border channel" for authorized trade.
Towards Havana, the group demands that the regime allow churches, non-governmental organizations, and private companies to receive and manage humanitarian funds in dollars without forced conversion to pesos, and that it authorize the import and distribution of humanitarian fuel without requiring it to be channeled through CUPET, the state-owned oil company sanctioned by Washington in June.
The document acknowledges that the Cuban government bears "great responsibility" for the structural failures that have left the country so vulnerable, but it also points out that the United States has a responsibility for what it describes as a "de facto fuel blockade" that exacerbates the suffering of Cubans without having brought about any political changes.
The group qualifies the package of 100 million dollars in humanitarian aid pledged by the Trump administration —distributed through the Catholic Church and trusted NGOs, with the first shipment leaving Miami on July 21— as "unfortunately inadequate in relation to the scale of the island's needs."
The statement takes on special significance following the indications from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that both military escalation and a major negotiated agreement with Cuba are off the table for the time being, making humanitarian policy one of the few active instruments available to both governments.
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