On January 29, President Trump signed an executive order labeling Cuba an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the United States. The order imposes economic penalties on any country that attempts to deliver oil to the island, which has already been under a US economic and commercial blockade for more than 60 years.

These measures followed a broader US military campaign against Venezuela that further isolated Cuba. The seizure of Venezuelan tankers bound for Cuba as part of a US naval blockade on Venezuelan oil, and the detention of Venezuela’s president and first lady, cut off one of Cuba’s primary fuel providers. According to Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, no fuel has entered the country since December.

The loss of fuel supply has severely disrupted the electricity grid on which schools, transportation, and vital health infrastructure depend.