
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has demanded the immediate removal of US oil and economic sanctions on Cuba, warning that a mounting humanitarian crisis is causing preventable deaths among children and crippling the island’s healthcare system as fuel shortages trigger widespread instability.

Four months of a US-enforced oil blockade have left Cuba in a state of deepening crisis, with empty gas stations, rolling power outages, and a collapsing tourism sector. Residents report life has shifted from routine maintenance to a desperate struggle for basic utilities and affordable fuel.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced new sanctions against Union Cuba-Petroleo on Thursday, intensifying the long-standing American embargo. The move, aimed at the island's state-owned energy company, threatens to deepen an existing humanitarian crisis by further restricting access to fuel, food, and essential medical supplies across the nation.