Canadian official says Cuban regime ‘quite stable’ as U.S. oil blockade tightens grip

Former baseball player Juan Alberto Varona washes clothes in the street during a scheduled power outage in Santa Cruz del Norte, Cuba, late afternoon Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

OTTAWA — Cuba’s envoy to Ottawa says the U.S. is trying to overthrow his country’s communist government — but Canada’s foreign service says the regime’s hold on Havana is “quite stable.”

The comments come in the midst of a growing humanitarian crisis in Cuba sparked by a U.S. oil blockade, and as Ottawa prepares an aid package for the island.

“The collective punishment of a whole nation is an unjustifiable crime,” Cuban Ambassador Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz told the House foreign affairs committee Tuesday.

“One may disagree with the country’s political project, but there is no right whatsoever that justifies a great power … attempting to achieve its objectives by suffocating an entire people.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered an effective oil blockade on Cuba, cutting off Venezuelan shipments and threatening tariffs on countries that sell oil to the island nation.

Malmierca Diaz said Washington is taking further steps to “exercise military control over the traffic of vessels arriving in Cuba.” News outlets have reported oil ships being followed by American officials when they approach the island.

Some of Trump’s officials have suggested economic pressure could topple the Caribbean nation’s communist regime.

Mexico has sent humanitarian shipments of food and medicine to Cuba, leading Bloc Québécois and NDP MPs to call on Ottawa to follow suit.

Ottawa has said it will send some form of humanitarian aid to Cuba at some point.

The economic crisis gripping Cuba since 2020 has been compounded by U.S. sanctions, leading to critical shortages and severe blackouts that peaked in early 2026.

Because Cuba produces only 40 per cent of its required fuel, it remains highly vulnerable to external blockades. Air Canada and other airlines have cancelled flights to Cuba because of a shortage of aviation fuel on the island.

Malmierca Diaz told officials the shortages are preventing thousands of kidney dialysis patients from getting care and are keeping food from reaching various regions.

“Without energy, every aspect of life in a country is affected — food distribution, public health, transportation, education,” he said.

“The objective of this oil blockade is clear, to create a humanitarian crisis and try to force regime change through it.”

Mark Richardson, a senior Global Affairs Canada official overseeing Caribbean policy, said Cuba’s communist government is not likely to fall under current conditions.

“Despite the lack of fuel being imported due to the U.S. measures in particular, what I can say is that the Cuban government appears to be quite stable,” he said.

“It has developed itself through all areas of the economy and society in Cuba, and shows no indication of being unstable at this time.”

The ambassador did not suggest how Canada should respond to the situation but said Cuba has “very respectful” dialogue with Ottawa, despite long-standing disagreements.

He said his country is upset with Washington but not with Americans.

“We are able to negotiate — even with this administration that is being so aggressive against us — but we are not going to negotiate under threats,” he said.

Malmierca Diaz testified before the House foreign affairs committee following Global Affairs Canada officials responsible for regional issues and humanitarian response.

Conservative MP Lianne Rood challenged those officials to explain why Canada maintains full diplomatic relations with Cuba.

She argued Canada should push harder for multi-party elections and the release of political prisoners, and criticized what she called “the failed policy of quiet diplomacy that has quite frankly achieved nothing for the Cuban people in decades.”

Rood argued that the humanitarian situation in Cuba stems from the government’s mismanagement of the economy.

Richardson said that while Ottawa regularly raises human rights and democracy issues with Cuba, it also has collaborated with Cuba on gender-equity initiatives and LGBTQ+ rights.

His colleague Sébastien Beaulieu, who oversees travel advice, said that having Canadian diplomats in Cuba is “very useful in crisis moments.”

Rood challenged the Cuban ambassador to state how many political prisoners his country holds, citing reports from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International on arbitrary arrests, torture and the lack of independent media in Cuba.

Malmierca Diaz claimed that “in Cuba, no one is in prison for their beliefs.” He claimed Cuba jails people who were “paid agents in the service of a superpower that seeks to destroy the Cuban order.”

He further argued that, despite being a one-party state, Cuban citizens nominate candidates who run for office through the communist party. He insisted there is freedom of speech in Cuba.

Freedom House rates Cuba at 10 out of 100, saying the country “outlaws political pluralism, bans independent media, suppresses dissent and severely restricts basic civil liberties.”

Richardson told MPs that Global Affairs Canada has a policy of providing aid to Cubans through trusted partners instead of allowing the government in Havana to control those flows.

He said this policy extends to recent discussions about an aid package, which he said would involve experienced humanitarian partners.

He also said Canada typically pays humanitarian groups instead of shipping oil directly to countries in need of fuel, as Ottawa generally lacks the capacity to make such shipments.

Tara Carney, who oversees Canada’s humanitarian assistance, testified that Cubans affected by Hurricane Melissa last fall are among those made most vulnerable by the fuel shortages.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Monday that Ottawa was “preparing a plan to assist” Cuba but could not provide any further details.

“I will have an announcement in the coming days,” she said Tuesday.

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said on Feb. 13 that Canada was working on providing some sort of humanitarian relief to the island.

Cuba’s dire energy crisis has worsened in recent weeks. Oil shipments from Venezuela, its main oil supplier, were halted when the U.S. attacked the South American country in early January, arrested its leader and claimed control over its oil.

Mexico, another major supplier, suspended oil shipments after Trump threatened tariffs — deepening an already severe economic and energy crisis in the Caribbean nation.

While allies like Russia and China have condemned the U.S. measures, their support has remained largely symbolic so far.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 24, 2026.

— With files from The Associated Press.