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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/un-experts-warn-us-fuel-blockade-on-cuba-violates-int-l-law">english.almayadeen.net</a>
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">UN experts warn US fuel blockade on Cuba violates int'l law</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Al Mayadeen English</div>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time">February 13, 2026</div>
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<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><p>UN experts condemn the US fuel blockade on Cuba, warning of international law violations and serious humanitarian consequences.</p><div><ul id="gmail-content-slick-0"><div aria-hidden="false"><li>
<a href="https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2026/2/13/5dfb5442-6c29-4e54-98e8-13a81ebb9e56.jpg?width=1000" tabindex="0"><img src="https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2026/2/13/5dfb5442-6c29-4e54-98e8-13a81ebb9e56.jpg?width=1000&preset=w750" alt="A family travels on their electric motorbike during a power cut in Santa Cruz del Santa Cruz del Norte, home to one of Cuba\u2019s largest thermoelectric plants, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026 (AP)" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img"></a>
A family travels on their electric motorbike during a power
cut in Santa Cruz del Norte, home to one of Cuba\u2019s largest
thermoelectric plants, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026 (<em>AP</em>)
</li></div></ul>
<p>UN human rights experts today condemned the executive order of the US
government declaring a supposed national emergency and imposing tariffs
on countries that supply oil to Cuba.</p>
<p>In a press release, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Press Office <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/un-backs-cuba-amid-fuel-crisis-as-us-tariffs-threaten-suppli" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized the provision signed</a>
by the President of the United States on January 29, 2026, which
imposes a fuel blockade on Cuba, according to the UN experts who
asserted that the measure violates international law and poses a serious
threat to a democratic and equitable international order.</p>
<p>\u201cThis is an extreme form of unilateral <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/argentina-launches-campaign-to-deliver-humanitarian-aid-to-c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">economic coercion with extraterritorial effects</a>,
whereby the US seeks to exert coercion over the sovereign state of Cuba
and compel third sovereign states to modify their lawful trade
relations, under the threat of punitive trade measures,\u201d they said.</p>
<p>The experts also dismissed claims that Cuba poses an \u201cunusual and
extraordinary threat\u201d to US national security or supports \u201ctransnational
terrorist groups,\u201d describing such allegations as lacking credibility.</p>
<p>The statement emphasized that \u201cin the absence of authorization from
the UN Security Council, the executive order has no basis in collective
security and <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/russia-prepares-crude-and-fuel-deliveries-to-cuba-amid-sever" target="_blank" rel="noopener">constitutes a unilateral act contrary</a> to the international law.\u201d</p>
<p>\u201cThere is no power under international law that allows to impose
economic sanctions on third states for engaging in lawful trade with
another sovereign country,\u201d they added.</p>
<h2>Legal violations and humanitarian risks highlighted by UN experts</h2>
<p>The experts warned that the <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/cuba-reaffirms-solidarity-with-palestine--supports-un-rights" target="_blank" rel="noopener">US executive order directly violates</a>
the principles of sovereign equality, non-intervention, and
self-determination, essential pillars of a democratic and equitable
international order as set out in Article 2(1) of the United Nations
Charter. They argued that the measure also circumvents multilateral
frameworks governing international trade and security, including the
World Trade Organization.</p>
<p>\u201cA democratic international order has nothing to do with practices
whereby one state arrogates authority to dictate the domestic policies
and economic relations of others, using threats and coercion,\u201d experts
said.</p>
<p>They expressed deep concern about the <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/rubio-is-faking-cuba-talks--blocking-oil--and-playing-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">foreseeable humanitarian consequences of restricting</a>
fuel supplies to Cuba. \u201cObstructing fuel imports could trigger a
serious humanitarian crisis, with indirect effects on essential
services,\u201d raising serious concerns under international human rights
law, they added.</p>
<p>The experts urged the US government to immediately revoke the
executive order and end the use of extraterritorial economic measures.
They also noted that the executive order worsens the impact of the
already existing and illegal designation of Cuba as a \u201csponsor state of
terrorism\u201d by the US.</p>
<p>The UN experts called on all states not to recognize or validate
these actions of the United States government against Cuba, according to
the statement.</p>
<h2>Trump intensifies Cuba's suffering under sanctions</h2>
<p>The United States first <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/mexico-defies-us-pressure--sends-over-800-tonnes-of-aid-to-c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">imposed an arms embargo on Cuba</a>
in 1958, and by October 1960, it had expanded into a full trade embargo
that restricted nearly all economic interaction between the two
countries after the Cuban Revolution, making it one of the
longest\u2011standing sanctions regimes in modern history.</p>
<p>Over the decades, the embargo was codified and strengthened,
including through the Helms\u2013Burton Act signed on March 12, 1996, which
extended the embargo to penalize foreign companies doing business with
Cuba.</p>
<p>On January 29, 2026, US President Donald J. Trump signed a new executive order <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/us-pressure-intensifies-as-cuba-becomes-next-regime-change-t" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declaring a national emergency regarding Cuba</a>
and authorizing tariffs on countries that supply oil to the island, a
policy aimed at tightening the longstanding sanctions and restricting
fuel imports.</p>
<p>The US move has had immediate consequences on Cuba\u2019s fuel supply.
Mexico, which had become one of Cuba\u2019s largest fuel suppliers,
especially after a shortfall in Venezuelan exports, halted oil shipments
over fears of US trade penalties.</p>
<p>Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum<span> </span><a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/sheinbaum-condemns-us-oil-tariff-threats-meant-to--strangle" target="_blank" rel="noopener">publicly denounced the US sanctions</a>,
saying that punitive measures against countries exporting oil to Cuba
threaten to \u201cstrangle\u201d the island\u2019s fragile economy and deepen its
humanitarian crisis.</p>
<p>\u201cThis sanction being imposed on countries that sell oil to Cuba is
very unfair... sanctions that harm the people are not right,\u201d Sheinbaum
told reporters, emphasizing the humanitarian implications of such
economic coercion.</p>
<p>Mexico has sought diplomatic avenues to continue supporting Cuba
without incurring US sanctions, balancing solidarity with Havana against
safeguarding its own economic stability. Although Mexico\u2019s state\u2011owned
oil company Pemex paused planned shipments to Cuba, Sheinbaum said her
government remains committed to helping the Cuban people and exploring
ways to restore energy exports.</p></div></div></div>
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