2026-06-24

Once again, the government of the United States has intensified its long-standing policy of blockade, economic pressure, and military threats against the people of Cuba. The imposition of new sanctions on Cuba’s state oil company (CUPET), alongside the continuation of economic and political pressure on the country’s government, represents another link in the long chain of U.S. imperialism’s hostility toward the Cuban people and their right to determine their own destiny.

The new sanctions, which directly target Cuba’s energy sector and fuel imports, are being imposed at a time when the Cuban people are already facing fuel shortages, an energy crisis, widespread power outages, and severe economic hardships. The objective of these measures is neither the “defense of democracy” nor “human rights,” but rather the intensification of pressure on the daily lives of ordinary people in order to force Cuban society into submission to the interests of global capitalism and U.S. imperialist domination.

The experience of past decades has demonstrated that economic blockades are among the principal instruments of imperialist warfare against nations unwilling to conform to the order imposed by the major powers. When a country’s access to energy, financial transactions, and basic necessities is obstructed, the resulting economic crisis is artificially deepened, and that same crisis is then presented as evidence of the country’s “failure.” What the Cuban people are struggling with today is, to a significant extent, the product of this criminal and inhumane policy.

Alongside the economic blockade, military threats continue to be employed as instruments of intimidation and political pressure. Donald Trump’s recent remarks regarding the possibility of action against Cuba, even if they have not yet translated into a concrete decision for war, reflect the continuation of the interventionist and coercive policies that have dominated U.S. relations with Latin American countries for decades. The purpose of these threats is clear: to create fear, maintain constant pressure, and keep the option of intervention open as a means of imposing Washington’s will upon the Cuban people.

The International Office of the Communist Party of Iran regards these policies as part of the broader offensive of global imperialism against oppressed peoples, the working class, and liberation movements. We firmly condemn economic sanctions, blockade, military threats, and any form of foreign interference in Cuba’s affairs, and we defend the right of the Cuban people to freely determine their own future.

At the same time, defending Cuba does not mean overlooking developments that may undermine the historic achievements of the Cuban people’s struggles. Imperialist pressure is an undeniable reality, but the response to such pressure should not lead to the expansion of market relations, the strengthening of private capital, privatization, or the reproduction of class inequalities. Historical experience has shown that economic concessions, if transformed into a lasting orientation, can pave the way for the gradual erosion of social and socialist achievements.

For this reason, criticism of the Cuban government’s economic policies must be made from a socialist and anti-capitalist standpoint, not from the perspective of forces that seek to justify imperialist blockade and intervention. The struggle against the U.S. blockade and the struggle to deepen socialist achievements are inseparable aspects of a single, unified struggle.

The International Office of the Communist Party of Iran calls upon all communist and workers’ parties, progressive organizations, trade unions, anti-war movements, and freedom-loving forces to adopt a clear and active stance against the intensification of the blockade of Cuba, U.S. military threats, and any attempt to impose political submission on the Cuban people.

Solidarity with Cuba is solidarity with the right of nations to independence, freedom, and self-determination. Defending Cuba means defending the right of workers and the oppressed to resist imperialist domination and to build a future free from exploitation and class oppression.

International Office
Communist Party of Iran
June 2026