Ever since Fidel Castro’s forces overthrew Fulgencio Batista’s regime in 1959, Cuba has served as a revolutionary paradigm for Latin American leftists — and America’s Achilles’ heel in the region.

While the regime’s oft-predicted demise has failed to materialize, that may change now that U.S. President Donald Trump has seized control of Venezuela’s fossil-fuel industry, enabling his administration to establish an effective oil blockade of Cuba.

Although Trump recently eased restrictions on private oil sales to Cuba, his pressure campaign has plunged the country into crisis, resulting in dire humanitarian conditions and significantly increasing the risk of uncontrolled migration by boat to the United States and Mexico.

© The Japan Times