UN Experts Condemn U.S. Measures Against Cuba

A panel of United Nations human rights experts on Tuesday denounced Washington’s coercive measures against Cuba, including the embargo, designating Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism and the fuel blockade. The experts warned the economic siege on the island is placing the rights and well-being of millions of Cubans at risk.

“Efforts to change the constitutional order of a sovereign state through threats and coercion echo colonial-era practices,” the experts said. They also criticized President Trump’s recent statement that he would have the “honor of taking Cuba,” saying it was part of a “deeply concerning strategy of coercion against a sovereign state.”

The statement follows another warning made by UN experts last month that Washington’s fuel blockade amounted to “energy starvation.” Those experts cautioned that the blockade was “undermining the enjoyment of a wide range of human rights” and disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable sectors of the population by causing severe disruptions to healthcare, transportation, water access and other essential services.

In the latest UN statement, the experts argue that recent U.S. actions cannot be viewed in isolation. They are “part of a broader strategy,” including the embargo, Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, the fuel blockade and sanctions targeting third countries. The UN experts also criticized the indictment of former Cuban President Raúl Castro and the deployment of the USS Nimitz to the Caribbean.

“These actions are part of a disturbing trend of lawlessness and contempt of multilateralism of the UN Charter,” they said. “The normalization of coercion and threats of regime change undermines the integrity of the entire international legal order.”