A spike in mortality
The tightening restrictions have forced the Cuban government to effectively ration care.
In February, Havana announced a package of emergency energy-saving measures. Among them was the suspension of all non-essential medical services across the island.
But non-essential does not mean unimportant. Fernandez, the paediatric anaesthesiologist, explained that preventive healthcare plays a major role in saving lives.
Under normal conditions, he said, preventive healthcare helps doctors catch potentially fatal conditions like appendicitis sooner.
But in recent months, Fernandez has observed patients arriving at his hospital in a “worsened” condition than they might otherwise have had.
“All the appendicitis cases we treat now present complications,” he said. “They demand more resources and antibiotics – supplies we don’t have.”
Deaths in Cuba have also escalated as years of increasing restrictions take effect.
Just last month, the Cuban Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) reported that survival rates for childhood cancer dropped from ۸۵ percent to ۶۵ percent amid the oil blockade.
Infant mortality has also steadily climbed. In ۲۰۱۷, at the start of Trump’s first term, Cuba had an infant mortality rate of four for every ۱,۰۰۰ live births. That figure climbed to ۷.۷ in ۲۰۲۴, just before Trump’s second term, and reached ۹.۹ in ۲۰۲۵.
The maternal mortality rate similarly rose to ۴۴.۱ deaths for every ۱۰۰,۰۰۰ live births by the end of ۲۰۲۵, up from ۴۰.۶ the previous year.
Lilian Delgado, an obstetrician and gynaecologist at Cuba’s main maternity hospital, explained that the escalating humanitarian crisis has triggered a sharp rise in premature births and severe morbidity among pregnant women.
“Conditions are far from ideal at all the levels of the system,” Delgado noted. “There are shortages everywhere.”
The decision to prioritise emergency care can be deceptive. A wide range of medical procedures are considered “elective”. But just because they do not rise to the level of an emergency does not mean they are optional.
Typically, in Cuba, emergency surgeries are those that need to be urgently completed within ۴۸ hours. Other necessary surgeries often fall into the “elective” category.
Mastectomies – a common breast cancer treatment – are among the surgeries often categorised as elective. So too are some organ transplants.
Healthcare advocates point out that, if certain elective surgeries are postponed too long, they too can result in deadly conditions.
More than ۱۰۰,۰۰۰ Cubans are currently on waiting lists for elective or reconstructive surgeries, a backlog MINSAP credited to the US sanctions.
Among those waiting are ۵,۱۵۲ cancer patients and approximately ۱۲,۰۰۰ children. Delgado said some of her patients have been languishing on such lists for months.
“Our surgical services are severely hampered by a lack of supplies,” she explained. “We have more women suffering from serious complications, and our operating rooms have become tied up with emergency cases, making it impossible to perform elective surgeries.”
Hospitals in Cuba largely have backup generators to weather the increasingly frequent power outages. But accessing even emergency medical care is tough when the fuel blockade is affecting basic services like transportation.
“Ultimately, if you have a cancer patient and cannot operate due to a number of factors – such as a nationwide blackout forcing the suspension of surgeries – then, whether you intend to or not, you are directly condemning that patient to death,” Delgado said.
The oil embargo has cost “human lives, both directly and indirectly”, she added.
