Cuba Is Being Strangled... Mexico Stepped In. Should Canada?
Fuel blockades, collapsing tourism, and empty hospitals are pushing Cuba toward crisis... and the geopolitical message should make Canadians pay attention.
Most Canadians think of Cuba as cheap sunshine and rum drinks.
But right now, Cuba isn’t a vacation destination.
It’s a country running out of fuel.
And when fuel disappears, everything else follows… food transport, hospital power, refrigeration, medicine supply chains, water systems.
Civilization runs on energy.
Take that away and things unravel fast.
That’s exactly what’s happening.
What Changed
For decades, Cuba survived partly because Venezuela supplied oil.
That pipeline is now effectively gone.
At the same time, the United States has warned countries they could face economic consequences…
including tariffs… if they help supply fuel to Cuba.
Airlines have already reduced or cancelled routes. Tourism, which was one of Cuba’s main sources of foreign currency, is collapsing.
Canadian travel disruptions have even made headlines because flights were cancelled due to jet fuel shortages on the island.
But the bigger story isn’t Canadians stuck in airports.
It’s Cubans stuck in poverty with fewer options than ever.
Global Affairs Canada has warned for over a year that shortages of food, medicine, and fuel are widespread across Cuba.
That’s the reality on the ground.
Why Cuba Is Poor in the First Place
This isn’t new.
Cuba has lived under a U.S. economic embargo for decades, dating back to Cold War tensions, including the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
That confrontation lasted 13 days and nearly pushed the world into nuclear war. The Soviet Union agreed to remove missiles from Cuba. The United States publicly agreed not to invade Cuba and secretly removed missiles from Turkey.
But the economic hostility never fully disappeared.
And today, more than 60 years later, Cuba is still treated as a strategic adversary…despite posing no meaningful military threat to the United States.
History froze the relationship in place.
The people never escaped the consequences.
Mexico Just Drew a Line
Despite American pressure, Mexico recently delivered more than 800 tons of humanitarian aid to Cuba using naval vessels.
Their message was simple… humanitarian solidarity matters more than politics when people are suffering.
That move matters geopolitically.
It signals that not every country will automatically align with Washington’s pressure tactics.
Canada Is Now Facing the Same Question
Should Canada help?
Not militarily. Not politically.
Humanitarian assistance.
Fuel. Medical supplies. Essential goods.
Ottawa is already facing calls to consider it.
This is where things get uncomfortable for Canadians… because the language Cuban officials are using sounds familiar.
They describe U.S. policy as “economic warfare” intended to force surrender by suffocating the economy.
Whether you agree with that framing or not, the strategy itself is recognizable.
Economic pressure to achieve political compliance.
That’s not ancient history. That’s modern geopolitics.
Perspective Matters
The world has moved on from former enemies before.
The United States fought Germany, Japan, and Italy in World War II.
Today…
Many people drive German cars
Use Japanese electronics
Vacation in Italy
Conflict ended. Trade replaced hostility.
But with Cuba, the Cold War never really ended economically.
And now ordinary civilians are paying the price again.
The Real Question
This isn’t about communism versus capitalism.
It’s about whether Canadians believe humanitarian help should cross political boundaries.
Because when energy disappears, suffering follows quickly.
Mexico decided to act.
Canada now has to decide where it stands.
The Recap…
Cuba is running out of fuel.
Mexico sent aid despite U.S. pressure.
Now Canada is being asked the same question…
Do we help people… or stay out of it?
The Gut Punch…
Starving a country into submission isn’t strategy. It’s leverage applied to civilians.
Source Credit:
Source: Canadian and international news reporting on Cuba fuel shortages, travel disruptions, and humanitarian aid developments (February 2026).
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The world is getting to be a very sad place, indeed. What is happening to Cuba is beyond cruel.
My feeling is that the US should be charged with crimes against humanity or whatever the proper term is for denying the basics which include fuel! They are a very poor people living on a pretty small Island. What is the point of doing this to Cubans?