US President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency over what he described as a growing “Cuba threat,” dramatically escalating pressure on the government in Havana and any country that continues to supply the island with oil.
In an executive order signed on Thursday, Trump branded Cuba “an unusual and extraordinary threat” to US national security and foreign policy, opening the door to steep tariffs on imports from nations found to be selling or providing oil to the communist state. The move marks one of the most aggressive steps Washington has taken against Cuba in decades.
“The United States has zero tolerance for the depredations of the communist Cuban regime,” the order states. “The policies, practices and actions of the Government of Cuba directly threaten the safety, national security and foreign policy of the United States.”
The declaration grants broad powers to the Secretaries of State and Commerce to identify countries supplying oil to Cuba and recommend tariff levels to the president. Officials said the measure formalises and intensifies an energy blockade that has been tightening for weeks.
The move follows a US military operation earlier this month that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, cutting off Cuba’s primary source of subsidised crude oil. Subsequent pressure on Mexico, Havana’s last major supplier, has left the island facing acute shortages.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that Cuba is on the verge of collapse, arguing that the loss of Venezuelan oil and revenue has pushed the government to the brink. Analysts say Cuba has as little as two to three weeks of oil reserves remaining. Daily blackouts are already widespread, and economists warn of economic breakdown and a looming humanitarian crisis without rapid resupply.
The White House said the emergency declaration was necessary to counter what it described as Cuba’s malign activities, accusing Havana of hosting Russia’s largest overseas signals intelligence facility and providing a safe environment for terrorist organisations. It also accused the Cuban government of exporting communist influence across the Western Hemisphere.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel responded defiantly, insisting that threats and pressure from Washington would not force the country to submit. “The harshness of these times and the brutality of the threats against Cuba will not hold us back,” he said earlier this week.
Cuba has been under a US trade embargo since the 1960s, but it has not faced the prospect of a US-enforced energy blockade on this scale since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. While the administration has stopped short of announcing a naval quarantine, officials said all options remain under review.
The escalation risks further straining relations between Washington and its allies, many of whom trade with Cuba or maintain diplomatic ties with Havana. Critics warn that the policy could worsen living conditions for ordinary Cubans, while supporters argue it is long overdue pressure on a hostile regime.
As tensions rise, the declaration signals that the White House is prepared to use economic force to isolate Cuba and challenge governments that continue to support it.
