For Immediate Release:
February 27, 2026
Contact:
Andrea Fernández Aponte
Senior Policy Associate
Latin America Working Group (LAWG)
afernandez@lawg.org
40+ Civil Society Organizations Send Letter Calling on Congress to Reverse Destructive Cuba Policy
Washington, D.C. — As the Trump administration’s fuel blockade and other coercive measures push Cuba to the brink of economic and humanitarian collapse, more than forty US civil society organizations sent a letter to members of Congress today calling on lawmakers to reverse the destructive policy and instead “expand humanitarian relief, support political and economic engagement, and foster a more vibrant private sector that can deliver a better quality of life for the Cuban people.”
Among the signatories are major faith-based, foreign policy, human rights, and immigration advocacy organizations, including the Presbyterian Church (USA), Foreign Policy for America, the United Church of Christ, the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Just Foreign Policy, the Center for Economic and Policy Research, the Latin America Working Group, and We Are CASA.
The groups warn that denying Cuba access to oil will turn an already severe economic crisis into what UN Secretary-General António Guterres has referred to as a potential “humanitarian collapse.”
The signers point out that the policy has resulted in prolonged blackouts and widespread shortages of food, fuel, and medicine, intensifying hardship for ordinary Cubans. This, they say, is illegal. “Policies that deliberately impose hunger and mass hardship on millions of civilians constitute a form of collective punishment, and as such are a grave violation of international humanitarian law.”
The administration’s recent move to allow limited oil sales to certain private-sector entities is largely symbolic and provides no real relief to ordinary Cubans, the signatories note.
The organizations also urge Congress to terminate the administration’s declaration of a national emergency with respect to Cuba, arguing there is no factual basis for asserting that Cuba constitutes “an unusual and extraordinary threat” to US national security. “This is an abuse of the National Emergencies Act and International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) that Congress must reject.”
The groups also raise concern over reports in the New York Times that US armed forces have begun intercepting oil-bearing vessels in the Caribbean Sea en route to Cuba. The administration has not publicly stated its legal authority for such actions, and implementing a blockade constitutes an act of war under international law.
The groups note that recent US intelligence assessments acknowledge that inducing economic collapse will not guarantee a successful political transition and warn that “pushing the country toward total breakdown risks the creation of a power vacuum, institutional failure, and chaos.” Such destabilization could also provoke a migration crisis, they warn.
After more than sixty years, the embargo has failed to achieve its stated goals. “Congress can and must take the lead on a new path toward engagement with Cuba — a path grounded in diplomacy and economic revitalization.”
Comments:
“Beyond denouncing this administration’s recent actions, which in themselves constitute an unconscionable act of violence, US elected officials must also act to end the embargo on Cuba. This cruel policy, which for decades has aimed to strangle the Cuban economy into submission, has not only failed to achieve its purported goals but also brought immense hardship to the people of Cuba,” Andrea Fernandez, Senior Policy Associate at Latin America Working Group (LAWG), said.
“The Trump administration is depriving Cuba of oil as a deliberate act of collective punishment. This policy will impoverish and immiserate countless Cuban civilians, and that is exactly its goal. This is the logic of the entire 60+ year embargo: to cause such widespread suffering as to provoke regime change. This is a gross affront to both law and morality — a desecration of our common humanity. It must be ended,” Michael Galant, Senior Research and Outreach Associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), said.
“Congress plays a fundamental role in reversing the barbaric policies of this administration in targeting Cuban civilians and their livelihoods, including their ability to access food, medicine, transportation, and basic goods. Cubans’ economic and social lives have come to a standstill as a result of this administration’s direct targeting of the economic underpinnings that make their ability to survive possible. It is time to end the long-failing policies of isolationism and collective punishment, which are illegal and immoral. Congress can change that today,” Natasha Bannan, human rights lawyer at the Alliance for Cuba Engagement and Respect (ACERE), said.
“Both Trump’s fraudulent national emergency and his oil blockade — which was rightly recognized by John F. Kennedy six decades ago as an act of war — are unconstitutional and illegal war crimes against Cuban civilians. Intentionally pushing the country toward collapse is not only an act of collective punishment, but also threatens ostensible U.S. interests by causing a new refugee crisis and turning peaceful Cuba into a violent haven for criminals and drugs. Congress must take action to reorient U.S. policy towards a humane and pragmatic engagement policy that will pay dividends to American and Cuban entrepreneurs alike,” Erik Sperling, Executive Director at Just Foreign Policy, said.
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