New U.S. blockade is strangling Cuba

An analysis of ship movements and satellite images shows the United States is effectively blocking oil shipments to Cuba, the first such squeeze since the Cuban Missile Crisis. Tankers linked to the island have rarely left its waters, allied suppliers have halted or declined shipments, and recent vessel movements suggest attempts to reach Cuba have been intercepted or turned back.

One tanker, the Ocean Mariner, loaded fuel in Colombia but made a U‑turn about 65 miles from Cuba and was later escorted by the U.S. Coast Guard into Dominican waters; another vessel carrying Colombian fuel was intercepted after getting within 70 miles of the island.

President Trump declared a national emergency and signed an executive order threatening tariffs on countries that supply oil to Cuba, while a heightened U.S. military presence patrols the Caribbean.

Cuba, Caribbean

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