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The US is not enforcing a blockade, it's an embargo. The US and other countries are refusing to trade with Cuba, but plenty of other countries can and do trade
by Manuel_D 5mo ago
The US is not enforcing a blockade, it's an embargo. The US and other countries are refusing to trade with Cuba, but plenty of other countries can and do trade with Cuba. Cuba is not entitled to trade with the US.
A blockade is when a country stops traffic, from entering a country's ports. It's an act of war, and a totally different thing from an embargo.
- insane_dreamer 5mo ago> A blockade is when a country stops traffic, from entering a country's ports. this is exactly what the US is doing
- jasonlotito 5mo agoRegardless, it's evil and should be treated as evil.
- ceejayoz 5mo agohttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/world/americas/venezuela-cuba-oil-tanker.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/world/americas/venezuela-... > The oil tanker seized by the United States off the coast of Venezuela this week was part of the Venezuelan government’s effort to support Cuba, according to documents and people inside the Venezuelan oil industry. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/20/world/americas/cuba-oil-blockade-trump.html https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/20/world/americas/cuba-oil-b... > Three days later, the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted a tanker full of Colombian fuel oil en route to Cuba that had gotten within 70 miles of the island, the data showed. > The U.S. government called its 1962 policy a “quarantine” to avoid using the word “blockade,” which legally could be interpreted as an act of war. The Trump administration has also avoided using the word “blockade.” The distinction seems to be mostly word games at this point.
- Manuel_D 5mo agoThis ship was flying a false flag [1], which makes it legal for governments to seize regardless of the situation with Cuba. 1. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-we-know-oil-tanker-the-skipper-seized-us-near-venezuela/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-we-know-oil-tanker-the-ski...
- vrganj 5mo ago[flagged]
- Manuel_D 5mo agoDo you not realize that flying a false flag is illegal? It's the maritime equivalent of putting a fake license plate on your car. I'm seriously baffled at your attempt to equate boarding ships that are breaking maritime law with saying women invite rape by the way they dress.
- j_maffe 5mo agoDo you also not realize that starving people of life-saving resources is also illegal? https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/02/un-experts-condemn-us-executive-order-imposing-fuel-blockade-cuba https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/02/un-experts-c...
- janderson215 5mo agoThis is a ridiculous false equivalence and muddies the waters of any serious dissent.
- ceejayoz 5mo agoAnd the Ocean Mariner, that they didn't seize, and just escorted out of the area?
- Manuel_D 5mo agoThe Ocean Mariner departed Columbia with the stated destination of the Dominican Republic. But it started sailing towards Cuba. When it realized that it was being tracked by the USCG, it changed course towards the Dominican Republic. We don't know with certainty what it's intent was, but it's likely it was trying to sell oil to Cuba surreptitiously, so as to avoid triggering retaliatory tariffs against Colombia. The ship was free to dock and offload in Cuba, but that would trigger tarrifs against Colombian exports the US. Which is why it turned around when it realized it was spotted. All the coast guard did was ensure that the ship docked at its stated destination.
- ricardobeat 5mo agoTrump instituted tariffs on any country that sells oil to Cuba, it is effectively a blockade. It’s also in fact preventing ships carrying oil to reach the island, using their military, I wonder if there is a term for that.
- Manuel_D 5mo ago[flagged]
- ceejayoz 5mo agoWhat legal justification could there possibly be for imposing a tarrif on Mexico-Cuba trade that doesn't involve the US at any point? What would your reaction be if China imposed tariffs on US-Canadian border crossings and seized American ships over it?
- Manuel_D 5mo agoA tariff is a tax that a country imposes on goods entering its borders. A country can impose a tariff on any country, at any time, for whatever reason (unless they've signed free trade agreements obligating them to refrain from imposing tariffs). > What would your reaction be if China imposed tariffs on US-Canadian border crossings and seized American ships over it? Again, the ships in being sized were flying false flags, which is illegal. If American ships decided to take this criminal act, then China is justified in enforcing the law.
- vrganj 5mo ago"Criminal" according to who? The US? Then why does their law apply here? International law? Like the ICC the US ignores? Or the climate agreements it breaks? Or the Geneva convention it runs afoul of? Sure is convenient the US decided this one specific bit is to be taken extremely seriously. Either way, it stinks of imperialism.
- 5mo ago
- ASalazarMX 5mo ago> The US is not enforcing a blockade, it's an embargo. Oh, so USA is only forcing their trade partners to embargo Cuba! That makes thing better, right?
- imvgikviktbt 5mo agoWhich countries have US forced embargoes on Cuba?
- ceejayoz 5mo agohttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/29/world/americas/cuba-russian-oil-tanlker.html https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/29/world/americas/cuba-russi... > The Trump administration had been enforcing what amounted to an oil blockade around Cuba since January, threatening nations that had been sending fuel to the country and, in one case, escorting a tanker heading toward Cuba away from the island. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Cuban_crisis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Cuban_crisis > The United States began blocking oil tankers heading to Cuba in February 2026, targeting companies such as the Mexican state-owned Pemex and threatening the responsible countries with tariffs should they resist. > After the ousting of Maduro, the United States began increasing its pressure on Mexico to reduce its oil sales to Cuba with President Donald Trump threatening tariffs against any country supplying Cuba with oil. Mexico temporarily halted shipments of oil to Cuba by 27 January and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that the decision to halt oil deliveries was "a sovereign decision".
- Manuel_D 5mo agoYour own link highlights the fact that this is not a blockade. The US threatened Mexico with tariffs if they didn't participate in the embargo against Cuba. Mexico decided that trade with Cuba isn't worth tariffs on Mexican exports to America. While the US is pressuring Mexico with the threat of tariffs it is ultimately Mexico's sovereign decision to stop sending oil to Cuba. If Mexico decided to keep sending oil to Cuba, and the US started sizing ships carrying Mexican oil bound for Cuba that would be a blockade.
- legitster 5mo ago> U.S. President Donald Trump resumed ramping up a six-decade-old American ecomonic embargo on Cuba in January after cutting off its main supply of oil from Venezuela and threatening sanctions on Mexico, its second largest supply, and any other country that provided oil to the island. It has taken on distinctly more "blockade-like" attributes.
- dyauspitr 5mo agoThe US has pressured other countries to stop trading with Cuba. That’s effectively a blockade.
- elmomle 5mo agoThe US has been seizing fuel shipments en route to Cuba. What do you call that, if not a blockade?
- imvgikviktbt 5mo agoThe Cuban government embargoes their own citizens. I don't understand why there isn't more criticism there.
- shimman 5mo agoWell mostly because of the direction actions of imperialism causing the needless deaths of babies but seeing how you seem to be pro-imperialism you probably see this as a good thing for American hegemony. Right up there with bombing school girls in Iran. It's just good diplomacy at that point right? Friendly reminder that the only people that majorly benefit from US foreign policy are the elites, most US citizens are left with a more dangerous world where they suffer against backlash, terrorism, and degrading life services.
- imvgikviktbt 5mo agoWhat does US imperialism have anything to do with the fact that the Cuban government refuses to allow their citizens to buy and sell goods freely?
- OutOfHere 5mo agoEven the US government doesn't allow its citizens to trade freely, so what nonsense are you complaining about...
- akramachamarei 5mo agoSerious posts are generally preferred on HackerNews, but jokes can be okay if they're funny.
- 5mo ago
- georgemcbay 5mo ago> The US is not enforcing a blockade, it's an embargo. ...just like the war in Iran isn't a war. These important reminders brought to you by the Ministry of Truth.
- Someone 5mo agoFTA: “U.S. President Donald Trump resumed ramping up a six-decade-old American ecomonic embargo on Cuba in January after cutting off its main supply of oil from Venezuela and threatening sanctions on Mexico, its second largest supply, and any other country that provided oil to the island.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Cuban_crisis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Cuban_crisis: “ The United States began blocking oil tankers heading to Cuba in February 2026, targeting companies such as the Mexican state-owned Pemex and threatening the responsible countries with tariffs should they resist. […] On 29 January 2026, Executive Order 14380 was signed and entered into force on 30 January, declaring a national emergency in US and authorizing the imposition of additional tariffs on imports into the United States from countries that directly or indirectly supply oil to Cuba.” That’s a bit more than an embargo.
- Manuel_D 5mo agoNo really, it's an embargo and a promise to tariff other countries that don't also embargo Cuba. An embargo is like boycotting a store. A blockade is like standing around the store with a bunch of batons promising to apprehend anyone who tries to shop at the store. They are not the same.
- j_maffe 5mo agoThey can beat around the bush to pretend what is effectively a blockade to be anything but a blockade. Call it a de-facto blockade if you have to. You're using technicality as a crutch. Edit: corrected it to blockade
- Manuel_D 5mo agoIt's not a blockade. Any country around the world is free to sail their cargo ships to Cuba and trade with Cubans. This will in turn, trigger tariffs against them in the US, but if countries really want to trade with Cuba they can. A blockade is carried out through military force. Under a blockade ships are physically prevented from docking with the blockaded country, even if they're legally registered. If you want to decry what the US is doing to Cuba, go ahead. But it is an embargo not a blockade.
- anigbrowl 5mo agoRight and there's no wars in Ukraine or Iran, they're 'special military operations' or 'excursions.'