There has not yet been a decision made, but the measure could be part of the package of options that would be presented to President Donald Trump.
MIAMI, United States. – Donald Trump’s administration is considering new tactics to push for regime change in Cuba, including imposing a total blockade on oil exports to the island, three people familiar with the plan said Thursday, according to a report of POLITICAL. According to these sources, there has not yet been a decision made, but the measure could be part of the package of options that would be presented to the president to force the end of the Cuban communist regime.
POLITICAL points out that the proposal has been promoted by critics of the Government of Havana within the Administration and has the support of the Secretary of State, the Cuban-American Marco Rubioaccording to two of the three people consulted by the media, who spoke under anonymity because they were “sensitive” deliberations.
The plan would mark an escalation of Trump’s statement last week that the United States would curb imports of Venezuelan crude oil to Cuba, which had been the island’s main supplier.
🚨From the federal Congress, we support any measure that limits the flow of money and resources to the murderous dictatorship in #Cuba.
An oil embargo is key so that the regime cannot mobilize to repress the people.
We continue to push for the end of all travel and shipments to…
— Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez (@RepCarlos) January 23, 2026
The internal debate includes reservations about whether it is necessary to go that far. According to the three sources cited by POLITICALthe loss of Venezuelan shipments—and the resale of part of those shipments that Havana used to obtain foreign currency—has already suffocated an economy described by the media as lagging. In this context, a total oil blockade could trigger a humanitarian crisis, a possibility that has led some officials to oppose the measure, according to the report.
In the words of one of the people familiar with the talks, “energy is the strangulation to kill the regime.” That same source added that, in the eyes of the Administration, the fall of the communist Government would be “a 100 percent event of 2026.” The report adds that the effort would be justified under the FREEDOM Act of 1994, known as Helms-Burton, which codifies the United States embargo on trade and financial transactions with Cuba.
The media recalled that Cuba imports around 60 percent of its oil supply. In the current context, Mexico has become the main supplier to the Island, as Venezuelan shipments have been stopped after the Trump Administration began to seize sanctioned shipments from Venezuela.
POLITICAL maintains that, after the US operation to capture dictator Nicolás Maduro, the Administration turned its attention to Cuba. The media also indicates that Trump and Rubio have expressed optimism about an upcoming collapse of the Cuban government due to the loss of economic support from Venezuela.
Despite deteriorating conditions on the island—blackouts and shortages of basic goods and food—the Cuban regime has resisted U.S. sanctions and a broad embargo for decades, even after the fall of the Soviet Union.
The Cuban American legislator Carlos Giménez shared on X the report of POLITICAL and expressed his support for the eventual measure: “From the federal Congress, we support any measure that limits the flow of money and resources to the murderous dictatorship in Cuba. An oil embargo is key so that the regime cannot mobilize to repress the people.”
