The Trump administration has made no secret of its pursuit of “regime change” in Cuba, a goal that the US establishment has been trying to achieve for decades, without success. The recent escalation is striking: federal prosecutors have indicted former President Raul Castro for the 1996 events, while the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and its accompanying ships have arrived in the Caribbean, in a show of force rarely seen in the US neighborhood. While the illegal practices of strangling the Cuban economy are nothing new, Cuba has been resisting for decades. However, Cuba now faces one of its harshest tests, against a Trump administration that is growing increasingly desperate amid the failed war with Iran.
The Embargo and the New Escalation: Economic Strangulation
To understand the magnitude of the pressure, we must look at the nature of the embargo. This is not a simple trade dispute. In early May 2026, Trump signed Executive Order 14404, which authorized sanctions on foreign financial institutions that conduct business with specific Cuban entities (such as the military conglomerate GAESA), thus extending the embargo’s power to third countries. In essence, the US is attempting to completely isolate the island, targeting its energy sector, nickel mines, and defense industries.
The results are devastating. Cuba is facing an unprecedented energy crisis. Fuel shortages are so acute that the island has suffered prolonged general power outages. The Cuban government has denounced the measures as “genocide” and a “ruthless act of economic aggression,” stressing that their purpose is to cause famine and social collapse in order to justify foreign intervention. The strategy is clear: strangle the economy to force the population into desperation, then present yourself as a “liberator.” It’s a tactic that is strongly reminiscent of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent “Special Period” in Cuba, where weight losses among citizens reached 5-25%.
The Mindset of American Exceptionalism
This behavior is not just a geopolitical reality; it stems from a deeply rooted ideology known as “American Exceptionalism.” It is the belief that the United States holds a unique moral position in the world, allowing it to transcend international law and intervene in the affairs of other nations to “promote democracy.” But this mindset has morphed from a soft hegemony to a “predatory hegemony.”
In practice, this means that Washington sees itself as legitimate in overthrowing governments that do not serve it. The operation in Cuba is part of a larger pattern that includes Latin America and the Middle East. From the invasion of Panama and the capture of Manuel Noriega, to the recent actions in Haiti and the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, the US has shown that it has a long history of direct intervention. What we are seeing today is a return to the policy of “gunboat diplomacy” and “gunboat capitalism”, where military power is used to secure economic benefits, such as control of resources, under the guise of “national security”.
Geopolitical Despair and Resistance
But why this despair now? The failure of the war against Iran has drained Washington’s resources and patience. Cuba represents an “easy win” for a government that needs internal and external support. Moreover, Venezuela’s recent change of course (which, under pressure, stopped subsidized oil shipments to Cuba) has deprived the island of its last economic breath.
However, history teaches that Cuba does not bend easily. For six decades, the island has resisted US hegemony, not only surviving but also exporting internationalist solidarity (doctors, teachers). Today’s test may be the greatest, but the threat of military intervention remains risky. As President Diaz-Canel warned, any attack on Cuba would cause a “bloodbath” in the region.
