Originally published by Liberation News, newspaper of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.

Donald Trump’s January 29 Executive Order declaring Cuba “an unusual and extraordinary threat” to the United States is an absurdly false pretext designed to intensify the suffering of the Cuban people in the pursuit of regime change. The only real threat comes from the U.S. government, which is attempting to impose its domination over the entire western hemisphere in line with the so-called “Trump corollary” to the imperial Monroe Doctrine. 

In addition to an instrument of aggressive U.S. foreign policy, this declaration is also an attempt to distract from the failed and profoundly unpopular domestic policies of the Trump administration. It is a tried and true tactic of US politicians to invent an external “threat” to distract from internal problems. Right now, the entire country is rising in opposition to Trump’s brutal war on immigrants, and historic protests have taken place challenging mass deportations. 

The main goal of the Executive Order is to tighten the U.S. blockade of the island by making it impossible to import oil. Because oil imports are already extremely restricted, and because the blockade also affects the import of spare parts, Cuba’s electrical system is profoundly strained. Blackouts are commonplace and cause great hardship for the Cuban people.

This is the brutal logic of the U.S. blockade – cause as much suffering as possible among the population of Cuba, and hope that this leads to an internal crisis that allows the U.S. government to achieve its long-standing goal of overthrowing the country’s socialist system. It is both an act of great cruelty and an outrageous violation of Cuba’s sovereignty. 

Specifically, the Executive Order seeks to achieve its goal by asserting for Trump the authority to impose tariffs on countries that provide oil to Cuba. This is primarily Mexico, Russia and Venezuela. The Executive Order also violates the sovereign right of these nations to choose their own trading partners.

Cuba’s designation as an official threat is a continuation of the imperial offensive in Latin America that saw Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro kidnapped and taken to the United States to face bogus criminal charges. Venezuela is Cuba’s most important supplier of oil, and Trump wants to cut off this lifeline as well as others. 

The Trump administration is threatening military action against Cuba as well. They have threatened to direct the armada they amassed in the Caribbean to kidnap Maduro against Cuba next. Venezuela itself was subject to such a declaration of an “unusual and extraordinary threat” under the Obama administration – a move that opened the door to all-out economic warfare against the country during Trump’s first term.

The people of the United States want to live in peace with our neighbors. Trump’s war-mongering rampage around the world is aimed solely at making millionaires and billionaires even richer, and ensuring that the Pentagon war machine reigns supreme. The majority of people in this country want a normalization of relations with Cuba. This is expressed not only in public opinion, but in the positions of a growing number of elected officials. Representative Nydia Velazquez called the move “economic warfare designed to starve the Cuban people.” Rep. Rashida Tlaib put it starkly and accurately, “This Executive Order will kill countless innocent Cubans. I am horrified by the Trump Administration’s attempt to strangle an entire people.”

The blockade must end now! Just last year, the blockade cost Cuba’s economy $7.6 billion. The total since the beginning of the blockade is $170.7 billion – rising to $2.1 trillion when inflation and other economic damages are factored in. This is money that would have otherwise been used to ensure that Cubans have access to food, medicine, and the other necessities of a decent life. This cruel and illegal policy must come to an end immediately. 

Working people in the United States should oppose the Trump administration’s policy of economic strangulation against Cuba and all throughout Latin America. This has nothing to do with “threats” to the United States – it is solely about enriching corporate executives by facilitating the plunder of the people and resources of the hemisphere.