Why The US Wants Regime Change In Cuba And How Havana Has Held Out?

Around 90 miles from the coast of Florida sits an island country named Cuba with a population of 11 million, nearly equal to that of New York. Despite being so close, the United States and Cuba stand opposite on the ideological divide. A recent fallout was seen at the United Nations when representatives of both countries exchanged a series of spats.

President Donald Trump said on October 23 that the United States would take care of Cuba after dealing with Iran and Marco Rubio will take care of the deal.

The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose parents are Cuban immigrants, has said that Cuba “exports subversive Marxist ideology to the United States and other states in the Western Hemisphere.”

In May, the US administration said that Cuba is a security threat, as it maintains ties to US adversaries Russia and China. However, the US has recently announced a deal with Russia to import its oil.

The American president recently called a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, “one of Friendship, Strength, and Success, for both China and the USA.”

Some experts argue that it is the island nation itself that must be blamed for its current situation, while others argue that the US has pushed Havana into a severe humanitarian crisis and the US must be blamed for the current situation.

Cuba has survived sanctions after sanctions, blockades after blockades put by the US for more than six decades, but for how long can it manage?

Why Did The US Put An Embargo On Cuba?

The embargo on Cuba began in 1960 after a group of revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro toppled the government of Fulgencio Batista in 1959, who was backed by the US. The U.S. government recognised Castro’s rule, but it soon imposed economic penalties.

After coming to power, Castro brought reforms in land ownership and infrastructure to support the marginalised people of the country. The US oil companies, in response, refused to refine oil from the Soviet Union. Castro then nationalised all US businesses in the country.

The then US President Dwight Eisenhower opposed these moves; by December 1960, the US ceased imports of Sugar from Cuba, and on January 3, 1961, it ended its diplomatic relations with Cuba.

In February 1962, President John F. Kennedy expanded the ban on Cuban imports to a full economic embargo, which included travel restrictions to the country. In 1982, President Ronald Reagan declared Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism because it supported leftist militant groups in Africa and Central America.

Later on, Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton signed on laws that would tighten the US sanctions on Cuba. These included the Cuba Democracy Act of 1992 and the Helms-Burton Act of 1996. Under these laws, the provision was that the embargo would remain until Cuba became a democracy and until it removed the Castro family from power.

Since the start of this year, the Trump administration has put an additional blockade against the island country, and it has cripppled the country’s infrastructure to a large extent. Medicines are scarce, power outages are constant, and hospitals are not operating at full capacity.

Ideological Differences - The Main Contention Between Both Countries

After the revolution, Cuba shifted towards socialism, an ideology in which most industries, land, and resources are nationalised or run by the government, whereas the US backed capitalism, which wants a free market and lets the economy be run by private players.

The government in Cuba took actions to reduce inequality, while bringing major parts of the economy under state control. It introduced land reforms that put a limit on large estates and redistributed land. It gave land to farmers who had previously worked without owning it. The government also took actions to expand rural healthcare and launched a literacy campaign in 1961 that helped more than 700,000 citizens to read, according to PBS.

These reforms improved access to education and healthcare, but at the same time nationalisation and central economic planning curbed private ownership and market competition. The United States opposed the shift, and the ideological divide became a major reason behind the tension between Washington and Havana

How Did Cuba Survive All These Years?

Cuba endured sanctions imposed by the US as the Soviet Union became the top buyer of Cuban sugar during the Cold War. Soviet Union, in return, helped the country with oil and provided billions of dollars in economic assistance.

After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Cuba entered a ‘Special Period’. Overnight, the island lost most of its trading partners, fuel supplies decreased, and it became hard to sustain daily life.

However, Venezuela, under the leadership of Hugo Chavez and later under Nicolás Maduro, helped the country with subsidised oil, and China, Canada and European countries provided trade opportunities.

The domestic economy of the country has depended on tourism and foreign remittances sent by people living abroad. The government’s continued provision of healthcare and education also helped maintain its social system.

Position Of Human Rights Watchdogs And Other Countries

The UN General ​Assembly passed a resolution on Wednesday urging an end to the decades-long US economic embargo on Cuba. 130 countries voted in favour of the resolution, 25 countries abstained from voting, and 17 countries, including the US and Israel, voted against the resolution.

Vice President of China, Han Zheng, called for an immediate halt to threats against Cuba. In his statement at the UNGA in September 2026, he said, ”China urges the relevant country to immediately stop using the threat of force against Cuba and immediately and completely lift the blockade and sanctions against Cuba."

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, on September 22, criticised the US action on Cuba. He said, “In Cuba, the world watches in dismay as 10 million people face collective punishment from an illegal economic embargo and energy siege.”

In April 2026, Spain, Brazil and Mexico released a joint statement and pledged more efforts for Cuba to ease a humanitarian crisis. China has

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric in February warned about a humanitarian crisis if the issue, he said,” The Secretary-General is extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation in Cuba, which will worsen, and if not collapse, if its oil needs go unmet.

In the short term it may be possible that somehow Cuba may withstand US pressure but its economic crisis is becoming harder to manage. A Reuters report in June 2026 showed prolonged power cuts, shortages of medicines and food, and growing pressure on hospitals in Cuba.

The loss of Venezuelan oil supplies after the abduction of Maduro has further weakened the island’s ability to generate electricity and maintain its daily services. With the US continuously stepping up pressure on Cuba, it would be interesting to see if the country still stands or if it will fall amid pressure.