Amid the chaos and bloodshed of Donald Trump’s military excursions into Iran and Venezuela, it’s easy to overlook the needless misery America is currently inflicting with its oil blockade of Cuba.

The Trump administration’s approach has been both cruel and pointless. It has ordered Venezuela to stop supplying oil to Cuba, and after the capture of Nicolás Maduro in January, Venezuela is complying. It has successfully pressured Mexico to stop shipments as well, and no one else has come to Cuba’s rescue. Consequently, Cuba’s economy has ground to a halt. The small, vulnerable island nation is currently in the grips of the worst electricity crisis since Fidel Castro’s revolutionaries took power almost 70 years ago. Blackouts have become more common; on some days, almost the entire island is dark. Food, running water, and medical care are far harder to access than they were.

The goal is to weaken the Communist dictatorship that has governed the nation since the rise of Castro and ultimately bring about some kind of regime change. Trump hopes that an American-friendly dictatorship will arise and that the Cuban people will simply accept whatever the U.S. government decides for the island. But that’s a naïve proposition. If Cubans begin to resent their Communist dictatorship, they are still no more likely to accept a regime imposed by Trump from above. The throttling of Cuba has no realistic long-term........

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