Motivated by a desire for the island’s government to change regimes, U.S. President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14380 on January 29th, 2026, authorizing the imposition of heavy tariffs upon oil provisions sent to Cuba and delivering a huge blow to the progress made toward SDG 1 in Cuba. 

The island is one of Latin America’s poorest countries and had already been struggling with an energy crisis before Trump’s tariffs were put into place. With 12% experiencing unemployment and an astonishing 89% living in extreme poverty, Cuba’s citizens are suffering under the weight of food shortages and medicine shortages, blackouts and poor wages. 

While the island has long endured social problems, as of 2026, the poverty rate has soared by 49% since 2025, with the island now suffering from blackouts, a lack of drinkable water and outbreaks of mosquito-borne and hygiene-related illnesses, creating a nation-wide poverty crisis that is driving 78% of people living on the island to make emigration plans. Here are three ways that the U.S. fuel blockage on Cuba is threatening the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1: no poverty in Cuba: 

1. Debilitated Healthcare System 

Cuba’s hospitals are unable to function effectively due to frequent power outages, leading to thousands of patients awaiting surgeries that are unable to be performed without sufficient water and electricity. Despite relying on generators during the reoccurring blackouts, hospitals and other important institutions are grappling to optimize the few hours of electricity provided each day, with laboratories shortening their workdays from five to two hours every week in order to preserve fuel.

A spike in hygiene-related and mosquito-borne illnesses, which the heaps of rubbish now piling on the streets of Cuba have caused, is putting the healthcare system under further strain. The Cuban Government responded to the fuel shortage with rationed waste collection in an attempt to save fuel, resulting in garbage piles being burned as citizens desperately scramble to get rid of the piles of waste marinating in the streets.

Health officials report that the flux of stagnant water left inside discarded waste has led to an increase in reproduction of the Aedes aegypti species. With a large number of vectors swarming inside homes and public areas, the transmission of mosquito-borne illnesses has drastically increased, resulting in countless new cases of diseases like chikungunya, which causes significant pain and often debilitating symptoms in patients.

Rubbish piles further raise concern, as parents struggle to monitor their children in streets filled with waste that can cause serious health issues if consumed out of hunger or inhaled during a burning. With so few resources available, hospitals struggle to care for their rapidly increasing number of patients.

2. Grid Collapse

A preexisting energy crisis, which the fuel blockade has made worse, has left schools with no choice but to reduce the number of classes delivered to students each day, resulting in online classes and even cancellations, and businesses unable to operate, forcing them to shut down and leave workers unemployed. 

A cessation of fuel deliveries to the Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Power Plant has led to frequent breakdowns and left the island powerless in the resulting outages. Without power for lights and technological devices, schools and businesses  are unable to run as usual. However, it is speculated that, due to the crumbling public transport system, attendance would be low even if there was power. With a lack of fuel affecting the everyday commutes of students and workers alike, and a high prevalence of blackouts, the Cuban workforce is  paralyzed, leaving countless unemployed and jeopardizing SDG 1 in Cuba. 

The interruption to studies has even prompted students at the University of Havana to conduct a sit-down protest in March, angered by officials’ lack of action when the U.S. first began enforcing the blockade. A rare occurrence, the protest was responded with force, until Higher Education Vice Minister Modesto Ricardo Gomez called off university security, claiming their voices had a right to be heard and taken seriously.

3. Limited Access To Clean Water 

A water shortage caused by frequent blackouts over the island has left Cubans panicked. Due to fuel shortages, the island is experiencing voltage fluctuations. This causes delays in pumping schedules and damages to machinery, thus affecting the regular delivery of clean water to citizens. With no reliable access to clean drinking water, citizens have resorted to collecting water from tanker trucks and relying on aid vessels for supplies. 

The lack of clean water is leading to an increase in hospital patients, with people suffering from dehydration in the summer heat. Low water supply also means there is little to be spared for showers and cleanliness, leaving citizens vulnerable to illnesses due to poor hygiene and unsanitary food. There is very little water that can be boiled to wash dishes or cook food, therefore creating an environment where sickness can thrive.

Here is some information about aid being delivered to combat the poverty crisis in Cuba:

The Nuestra América Convoy

In 2015, the United Nations developed a 2030 vision, outlined by 17 SDGs, the first goal being no poverty. While the U.S. fuel blockade threatens to impede SDG 1 in Cuba, there are several organizations taking action to help citizens. The Nuestra América Convoy, for example, mobilized hundreds of volunteers from more than 30 countries to deliver aid to the island in the form of critical medical and food supplies. 

Aiming to aid, and stand in solidarity with, the citizens of Cuba, the delegation of Cuban Americans partnered with the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, National Lawyers Guild and U.S. Peace Council to visit Hospital Hermanos Ameijeiras and Parque Maceo, which is one of the more affected parts of Cuba. 

On March 21st, the group delivered around 20 tons of humanitarian aid to a drop point in Havana, providing significant humanitarian relief to the Cuban people. Now returned from their trip, having successfully helped hospital patients and residents of the area, volunteers plead for change and emphasize that the blockade will only make the situation in Cuba, as well as the island’s relationship with the U.S., worse.

The US’s Offer of Aid

While Cuba’s leader, Miguel Díaz-Canel, had previously rejected the offer, Cuba is now accepting the U.S. government’s $100 million in humanitarian aid. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has met with Pope Leo XIV to discuss the delivery of aid to Cuba, planning to distribute the provisions through the Catholic Church. The Cuban government claims it will accept assistance from the U.S., but explains that the island’s citizens may be confused by an offer of help by the same government that has made the poverty crisis significantly worse.

Achieving the United Nations’ SDG 1 in Cuba is critical to saving countless lives, as well as improving the living conditions of the island’s 10,899,951 residents. These three consequences of the U.S. fuel blockade, however, are not only delaying, but drastically reversing the progress made towards achieving this goal. The aid that volunteers are delivering to the island helps counteract these issues, but it is unclear whether it will be enough to combat the ever-growing poverty rate in Cuba.

– Ruby Fraser 

Ruby is based in Cannes, France and focuses on Global Health and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pixabay