Embargo

Conflicting Economic Claims Between Cuba and the United States

The United States possesses a legitimate, though methodologically inflated, claim arising from the 1959-1960 Cuban nationalizations. Cuba possesses a substantially larger, legally cognizable counter-claim arising from sixty-five years of comprehensive economic coercion. On a net basis, the equitable balance tilts substantially in Cuba’s favor. The 2026 oil blockade crosses the threshold of collective punishment and eliminates any remaining proportionality defense that Washington could invoke.