Congressional Black Caucus Demands End to Cuba Oil Blockade

Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Rep. Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY) sent a letter last Friday to Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding an end to the oil blockade and the lifting of sanctions that deny the “Cuban people access to the most basic resources they need to sustain life.”

“Enough is enough,” Clarke wrote. “The Congressional Black Caucus will not stand by and allow this administration to drag out this barbaric policy that generates unimaginable human suffering in Cuba.”

The CBC’s letter is the latest pushback by congressional Democrats to Trump’s Cuba policy. In February, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) introduced the United States-Cuba Trade Act of 2026, which would lift the embargo and restore travel rights. In late March, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) introduced the Prevent an Unconstitutional War in Cuba Act to bar federal funds from any military action against Cuba. In early April, 52 members of Congress signed a letter condemning the administration for "engineering an accelerated energy collapse."

Jayapal and Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL), a member of the CBC, traveled to Havana last month to see the conditions on the island firsthand.

“The only way to really understand the impact, the humanitarian crisis we’ve created, is by being here and talking to the Cuban people,” Jayapal said.

Belly of the Beast journalist Liz Oliva Fernández spoke with Jayapal and Jackson in an exclusive interview during their visit.