UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on June 7 strongly criticized the latest US sanctions against Cuba, stating they are directly harming the Cuban people, especially children.
In a statement, Turk emphasized: "The fuel restrictions imposed since the start of 2026, along with the recent tightening of extraterritorial sanctions, are directly harming Cubans, particularly the most vulnerable. Children are dying because doctors lack essential medical supplies and medicines. This is unacceptable."
Turk called for the immediate lifting of the sanctions, which he said violate "fundamental principles of international human rights law."
The statement comes after a series of moves by the administration of US President Donald Trump to increase pressure on Cuba, a Caribbean island already under decades-long trade embargo. Since January, the Trump administration has cut oil and financial supplies from Venezuela and issued an executive order declaring Cuba an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to US national security, threatening high tariffs on any country supplying oil to Cuba.
The sanctions were later expanded to include the Interior Ministry, National Police, and Cuban Intelligence Directorate, and most recently targeted President Miguel Diaz-Canel and his family members.
According to data from Turk's office, Cuba's infant mortality rate has doubled to 9.9 per 1,000 live births. The survival rate for children with cancer has dropped from 85% to 65%. In March, the Cuban government warned that 96,387 people were waiting for surgery, including 11,193 minors; 16,000 patients needed radiotherapy, and 2,888 needed dialysis — treatments that depend on a stable power supply.
The oil sanctions have also led to increasingly frequent blackouts, with essential services such as public transport and healthcare being cut. Turk noted: "Cuba is increasingly isolated. Companies are leaving. Fewer airlines fly to Cuba. The country is almost disconnected from the international payment system."
The UN human rights chief also warned about the upcoming hot summer and hurricane season. He said: "Rising summer temperatures increase the risk of spreading vector-borne and water-borne infectious diseases. Hurricane season only increases the potential for exposure. This creates a perfect storm for socioeconomic deterioration and suffering for the Cuban people."
On the same day the statement was issued, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck western Cuba.
Turk also acknowledged Cuba's human rights record and called on the country to "release all those arbitrarily detained." However, he stressed that the human toll from US sanctions cannot be ignored. Since January, only one Russian oil tanker has been allowed to reach Cuba, leaving the country's foreign fuel supply nearly exhausted.
