Cuba's health care system pushed to the brink by US fuel blockade, Cuban minister says

HAVANA — Cuba's debilitated health care system has been pushed to the brink of collapse by the U.S. blockading the country's oil supply, a Cuban official said Friday.

The country's medical system was already perpetually crisis-stricken along with the island's economy, with lack of supplies, staff and medicine long being the norm. But the turmoil has reached a new extreme in recent weeks. Ambulances are struggling to find fuel to respond to emergencies. Persistent outages have plagued deteriorated hospitals. Flights bringing vital supplies have been suspended as Cuba's government says it's now unable to refuel airplanes in its airports.

Experts and some leaders of other countries have warned that the island could be on the verge of a humanitarian crisis.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Cuba's Health Minister José Ángel Portal Miranda said that U.S. sanctions are no longer just crippling the island's economy, they're threatening ''basic human safety.''

''You cannot damage a state's economy without affecting its inhabitants,'' Portal said. ''This situation could put lives at risk.''

According to Portal, 5 million people in Cuba living with chronic illnesses will see their medications or treatments affected. This includes 16,000 cancer patients requiring radiotherapy and another 12,400 undergoing chemotherapy.

Cardiovascular care, orthopedics, oncology and treatment for critically ill patients who require electrical backup are among the most impacted areas, he said. Kidney disease treatments and emergency ambulance services have also been added to the list of impacted services.

Cuba, which produces only 40% of its own fuel and largely depends on oil to power the island, has long relied on allies like Venezuela, Mexico and Russia to fill its energy deficit. But those shipments have now dried up.

Trump has openly said that his larger hope is to push regime change in Cuba by intensifying economic pressure on the island, which has already struggled to cope with decades of U.S. sanctions.

Cuban people — who the U.S. government has said it seeks to defend — are the ones feeling the harsh ripple effects of the U.S. fuel blockade as hardship mounts every day. Buses have slashed routes, gas has been put under strict rationing and is only being sold in foreign currency, and endemic blackouts have reached a new extreme.

''There's been a drastic change since January,'' said Aniliet Rodríguez, a 25-year-old pregnant woman who was admitted that month to a maternal care center for an extreme case of anemia. ''There's no bread, no milk for nutrition … . There are no medicines.''

Cuba's health care system follows a universal and free model, providing local clinics on nearly every block and state subsidized medicine. But it's also entered a state of crisis in recent years, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Thousands of doctors being paid state wages that can hardly afford them a carton of eggs have emigrated from the country and hospitals have rapidly deteriorated.

Such problems are expected to worsen in the coming weeks even though Cuba's government has struggled to adjust to the new reality, Portal said. Solar panels have been installed in clinics while authorities prioritize care to children and the elderly.

But he also said they have placed restrictions on some more energy-reliant technologies like CT scans and laboratory tests, noting doctors will have to rely on more basic methods to treat patients, effectively cutting many off from high levels of care.

"We are facing an energy siege with direct implications for the lives of Cubans, for the lives of Cuban families," Portal said.

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