LIMA, Peru – The resident coordinator of the United Nations in Cuba, Francisco Pichón, urged the United States this Thursday to grant a “humanitarian exception” for the shipment of oil and aid to Cuba, warning that the energy shortage derived from Washington’s sanctions has become the main risk factor for a humanitarian crisis.
In a virtual appearance from Havana during the press conference of Secretary General António Guterres’ spokesperson, Pichón stated that the lack of fuel has gone from being “temporary” to “systematic”, seriously affecting essential services and daily life.
«It is necessary to negotiate with the US a humanitarian exception for oil. I understand that efforts are being made in that regard,” he said in statements cited by the EFE agency.
“As energy shortages continue, vulnerabilities are rapidly worsening and becoming more serious humanitarian risks. As we see essential services being reduced and disrupted, and the daily lives of ordinary people becoming increasingly fragile,” he added.
The official warned that President Donald Trump’s executive order to tighten the energy blockade maintains a legal framework that could sanction third countries that supply crude oil to Cuba, despite recent adverse judicial rulings in the United States.
Likewise, although he recognized the efforts of countries such as Mexico, Canada and members of the European Union to mitigate the situation, he warned that international aid will be insufficient without an agreement with Washington.
For its part, the UN Human Rights Office denounced that the US embargo contributes to the deterioration of the food, health and water supply systems on the Island.
The position from Washington
Donald Trump put an end to the additional tariffs imposed on countries that provide fuel to Cuba on February 20, by signing the executive order “Ending certain tariff actions”.
According to an EFE report, the president of the US-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, John Kavulich, warned that the original executive order has not been completely neutralized. “I dare not say that [la orden ejecutiva de 29 de enero] It’s a paper tiger. “If it has teeth, it is still a tiger, it can still be scary,” he told that agency.
In his opinion, “the Government of Cuba would make a huge mistake if it understood that the Supreme Court’s decision is a protective shield.”
Along the same lines, the Cuban-American lawyer Pedro Freyre, partner of the Akerman law firm and specialized in litigation linked to Cuba, considered that Washington could resort to other mechanisms. “The White House reversed the implementation of that mechanism, but left the door open to other possible actions. Knowing how they do things in this administration, I think I can assure that they are going to use other tools,” he told EFE.
According to the analysis collected by the Spanish news agency, among the alternatives that could be considered are possible banking measures promoted by the Treasury Department or secondary sanctions against actors participating in the supply of fuel. So far, the US Administration has not publicly detailed what specific instruments it could activate.
