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🇵🇾 Paraguay /Economy & Trade

Cuba puts cost of U.S. embargo over past year at $8.08 billion

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Context piece
  • Cuba says the U.S. economic embargo cost it $8.0833 billion between March 2025 and February 2026, a 7% increase from the previous period.
  • Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said the cumulative cost since the embargo began had exceeded $178.7 billion at current prices.
  • Havana plans to attach the figures to its annual United Nations resolution seeking an end to the U.S. sanctions, as tensions between the two countries rise.

Cuba says the U.S. economic embargo cost the island $8.0833 billion between March 1, 2025, and February 28, 2026, the highest figure it has recorded for a single period.

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said the amount was 7% higher than in the previous year. He put the cumulative cost since the embargo began at more than $178.7 billion at current prices, an increase of 4.7% over the latest period examined.

Rodríguez said the figures included only the first month affected by an energy blockade imposed by the United States on Jan. 29. “The damage in these months multiplies the damage produced during the period covered,” he said. He emphasized the effects on health care, transport and daily life, stating that “the blockade does not punish a government. It punishes the daily life of a people.”

The damage in these months multiplies the damage produced during the period covered.

· Bruno RodríguezCuba’s foreign minister said the reported figures did not yet capture the full effects of the energy blockade.

The figures appeared in a report titled “The Need to End the Economic, Commercial and Financial Blockade Imposed by the United States of America.” Havana plans to attach the document to its annual resolution at the United Nations calling for the sanctions to end.

The presentation comes amid heightened tensions. The article says the United States has not ruled out military intervention and that President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to take action against the island. Cuba also faces tighter sanctions on officials, including President Miguel Díaz-Canel, and on foreign companies operating there. The measures have contributed to the departure of Spanish hotel groups such as Meliá and Iberostar and created difficulties for shipping companies importing goods.

Cuba’s economic crisis has deepened, with blackouts sometimes lasting more than 24 hours and some areas going days without electricity. The article also attributes the crisis to six years of pandemic effects and domestic monetary and economic policy problems. In July, Cuba requested a special U.N. debate on the latest U.S. measures. The request received 136 votes in favor, nine against and 30 abstentions.

The blockade does not punish a government. It punishes the daily life of a people.

· Bruno RodríguezRodríguez described the embargo’s reported effects on Cuban residents.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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