2 US lawmakers visiting Cuba denounce island's 'economic bombing' under
energy blockade
[April 07, 2026]
By CRISTIANA MESQUITA and ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ
HAVANA (AP) — Two U.S lawmakers called for a permanent solution to
Cuba’s crises after witnessing the effects of a U.S. energy blockade
during an official visit to the island.
Democratic Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Jonathan Jackson of
Illinois met with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Foreign Minister
Bruno Rodríguez and members of Parliament during a five-day trip that
ended Sunday.
Díaz-Canel wrote on X Monday that upon meeting with Jayapal and Jackson,
he “denounced the criminal damage caused by the #blockade, particularly
the consequences of the energy embargo imposed by the current U.S.
administration and its threats of even more aggressive actions.”
Díaz-Canel added: “I reiterated our government’s willingness to engage
in serious and responsible bilateral dialogue and find solutions to our
existing differences.”
Both the U.S. and Cuba have acknowledged recently that talks are ongoing
at the highest level, but no details have been disclosed.
Jayapal told reporters she believes that recent steps taken by Cuba,
such as opening the economy to certain investments by Cuban Americans
living abroad; the recent announcement that more than 2,000 prisoners
would be pardoned; and the arrival of an FBI team to collaborate in the
investigation of a fatal shooting involving a U.S.-flagged boat,
“indicate that the moment is here for us to have a real negotiation
between the two countries and to reverse the failed U.S. policy of
decades, a Cold War remnant that no longer serves the American people or
the Cuban people.”
Cuba's government has released the pardoned prisoners who were accused
of a variety of crimes, although none so far appear to be political
prisoners.
In late January, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose
tariffs on any country that would sell or provide oil to Cuba, although
he made an exception for a Russian ship that reached the island last
week with 730,000 barrels of crude oil. It was the first petroleum
shipment in three months to dock in Cuba, which produces only 40% of the
oil it needs.
“This is cruel collective punishment — effectively an economic bombing
of the infrastructure of the country — that has produced permanent
damage. It must stop immediately,” Jayapal and Jackson said in a
statement released Sunday.
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U.S. lawmakers Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., center left, and Jonathan
Jackson, D-Ill., pose for photojournalists at the Malecon in Havana,
Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Critical oil shipments from Venezuela were halted after the U.S.
attacked the South American country in early January and arrested
its then-leader, Nicolás Maduro.
Cubans already suffering from five years of economic crisis have
acutely felt the impact of the fuel shortage: national blackouts,
gasoline shortages and rationing, lack of public transport, cuts in
working hours, paralyzed hospitals and surgeries, and suspension of
flights, among other things.
Russia has promised a second delivery of petroleum, although it’s
not clear when it might arrive. Experts have said that the first
shipment could produce about 180,000 barrels of diesel, enough to
feed Cuba’s daily demand for nine or 10 days.
Jayapal said that while such shipments are critical, they are only
temporary solutions: “We need a longer, permanent solution for the
Cuban people and the American people.”
Meanwhile, Jackson compared the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz off
Iran’s coast to the oil blockade in Cuba, adding that the island “is
the most sanctioned part of Earth.”
“Our government is fighting to keep the Strait of Hormuz open so
there is a free flow of oil around the world. We want, for
humanitarian reasons, a free flow of oil, fuel, and energy in our
own hemisphere,” he said.
Jackson and Jayapal said they would prepare a report and continue to
work on initiatives proposed by fellow members of the U.S. House of
Representatives to lift sanctions against Cuba to alleviate the
ongoing humanitarian crisis.
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