{"id":58961,"date":"2026-04-28T02:01:51","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T10:01:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/?p=58961"},"modified":"2026-04-28T02:01:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T10:01:51","slug":"study-shows-trumps-tightened-embargo-on-cuba-has-killed-a-lot-of-babies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/28\/study-shows-trumps-tightened-embargo-on-cuba-has-killed-a-lot-of-babies\/","title":{"rendered":"Study Shows Trump\u2019s Tightened Embargo on Cuba \u2018Has Killed a Lot of Babies\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The publication Monday of another report showing that President Donald Trump\u2019s tightening of the 65-year US embargo of Cuba over his two terms in office is \u201clikely the primary cause of a major increase in infant mortality\u201d on the economically besieged island prompted renewed calls for the lifting of <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/immoral-and-indefensible-study-reveals-deadly-consequences-of-us-sanctions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">deadly sanctions<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/cepr.net\/publications\/us-sanctions-and-the-sharp-rise-in-infant-mortality-in-cuba\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">report<\/a> by Alexander Main, Joe Sammut, Mark Weisbrot, and Guillaume Long of the Center for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR) found an \u201cunprecedented increase\u201d in Cuba\u2019s infant mortality rate (IMR), which soared 148% between 2018 and 2025.<\/p>\n<p>In the early-to-mid 2010s, Cuba\u2019s IRM was typically around 4\u20135 deaths per 1,000 live births, with the country regularly ranked in the top 10-15 nations with the lowest infant mortality. By 2025, the figure had soared to 9.9 deaths out of every 1,000 infants born alive.<\/p>\n<p>The report\u2019s authors said that had Cuba\u2019s IMR remained unchanged since 2018, roughly 1,800 fewer babies would have died.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe blockade has had a particularly dire effect on Cuba\u2019s healthcare <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/infrastructure\">infrastructure<\/a>, with frequent power outages interrupting the use of critical equipment for the treatment of patients, including incubators for premature babies, and ventilators to help sick newborns breathe,\u201d <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/newswire\/new-report-shows-that-hardening-of-us-sanctions-on-cuba-since-2017-fueled-a-sharp-increase-in-cubas-infant-mortality-rate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> Sammut, CEPR\u2019s senior research fellow.<\/p>\n<p>The report examines the social and economic consequences of Trump\u2019s tightened sanctions regime, focusing on the impact of the embargo on Cuba\u2019s healthcare sector.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed-twitter\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Cuba?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Cuba<\/a>&#39;s infant mortality rate rose 148% from 2019 to 2025 during a period of unprecedented expansion and tightening of the US commercial and financial embargo against the island, a new CEPR report by Alex Main, Joe Sammut, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MarkWeisbrot?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MarkWeisbrot<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GuillaumeLong?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@GuillaumeLong<\/a> finds. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XSGSWwr5CY\">pic.twitter.com\/XSGSWwr5CY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; CEPR (@ceprdc) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ceprdc\/status\/2048810292415451379?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div>\n<p>According to CEPR:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Trump administration pressure on Cuba has included restrictions that have sharply diminished the island\u2019s important tourism sector; severely limited exports of goods to Cuba \u2013 including essential medication and medical equipment; cut Cuba\u2019s access to international financial markets by putting the country back on the State Sponsors of Terrorism list; curbed remittances; pressured countries to end their partnerships with Cuba\u2019s medical missions; and notably <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/blackout-in-cuba\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">imposed<\/a> a recent fuel blockade that prevents Venezuelan oil from reaching the island.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Trump has recently ratcheted up <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/trump-rubio-cuba-mexico\" target=\"_self\">military threats<\/a> and economic pressure on Cuba, which was already reeling from decades of US sanctions and the inefficiencies of centralized state control. His tightened embargo has <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/rubio-cuba-trump\" target=\"_self\">severely restricted<\/a> fuel imports, exacerbating an energy emergency characterized by <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/blackout-in-cuba\" target=\"_self\">blackouts<\/a> and deadly suffering among the most vulnerable Cubans, including <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/us-blockade-kills-cubans\" target=\"_self\">sick people<\/a> and <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/cuba-infant-mortality\" target=\"_self\">children<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Trump policy of \u2018maximum pressure\u2019 on Cuba has killed a lot of babies \u2013 and, although we don\u2019t yet have data for the last few months, it\u2019s highly likely that more babies are dying now, and at an even higher rate than last year as a result of the current US fuel blockade targeting Cuba,\u201d <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/newswire\/new-report-shows-that-hardening-of-us-sanctions-on-cuba-since-2017-fueled-a-sharp-increase-in-cubas-infant-mortality-rate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> Main, CEPR\u2019s director of international policy. \u201cThe question is how many more babies will have to die before the current economic siege against Cuba is lifted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not just babies. As Common Dreams <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/cuba-surgery-blockade\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a> last month, nearly 100,000 Cubans \u2013 including 11,000 children \u2013 werer waiting for surgery. Childhood cancer survival rates have also <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/cuba-infant-mortality\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">fallen significantly<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe sanctions on Cuba starkly illustrate how these economic sanctions work: They target the civilian population, often with the goal of provoking regime change,\u201d said Weisbrot, CEPR\u2019s co-director. \u201cThis can dramatically increase death rates.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During his first term, Trump began rolling back the Obama administration\u2019s <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@ObamaWhiteHouse\/54-years-later-were-marking-a-new-day-in-america-s-relationship-with-cuba-77c67e19a837\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">diplomatic normalization<\/a> with Cuba\u2019s socialist government. He <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/sanctionsnews.bakermckenzie.com\/trump-administration-to-end-suspension-of-title-iii-of-helms-burton-and-impose-additional-restrictions-on-cuba\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">activated<\/a> a provision of the Helms-Burton Act allowing lawsuits over property confiscated after the Cuban Revolution, and on his last day in office he <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/views\/2021\/01\/12\/trump-administrations-parting-outrage-against-cuba\" target=\"_self\">redesignated<\/a> Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism.<\/p>\n<p>Critics denounced the move as absurd, especially given that Cuba has never carried out any acts of terrorism \u2013 unlike the United States and the militant Cuban exiles it harbors, who have a <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailykos.com\/stories\/2016\/3\/22\/1504754\/community\/Obama-Should-Apologize-to-the-Cuban-People\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">decadeslong record<\/a> of <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/views\/2020\/01\/10\/ukraine-airliner-tragedy-evokes-memories-us-iran-air-shootdown-cubana-flight-455\" target=\"_self\">terrorist bombings<\/a> and <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/archive\/politics\/1992\/10\/15\/cuban-exiles-say-they-attacked-hotel-from-boat\/7cabb9c9-83d2-42e1-81e6-472a4236f16e\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">other attacks<\/a>, as well as numerous failed or aborted <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/storyline\/fidel-castros-death\/fidel-castro-cia-s-7-most-bizarre-assassination-attempts-n688951\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">attempts to assassinate<\/a> former revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.<\/p>\n<p>The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly condemned the blockade \u2013 which Cuba\u2019s government says has cost the island more than $1 trillion \u2013 <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/un-cuban-embargo-vote\" target=\"_self\">33 times<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe collective punishment of civilians is prohibited by the Fourth Geneva Convention when there is armed conflict, and can be prosecuted as a war crime,\u201d Weisbrot noted. \u201cThis would appear to be applicable now that the current naval blockade involves the US military.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Previous reports have sounded the alarm on Cuba\u2019s rising IMR, including a United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/cuba-infant-mortality\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">published<\/a> in February that put the 2025 infant mortality rate a 7.4, considerably lower than the CEPR analysis. The British Medical Journal Pediatrics Open in February <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC12959023\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a> a 9.9 IMR for Cuba.<\/p>\n<p>The IMR surge comes amid reporting that the Pentagon is \u201c<a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/us-plans-cuba-attack\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">quietly ramping up<\/a>\u201d preparations to wage war on Cuba, which would be the 11th country attacked by Trump, the self-proclaimed president of peace, the most of any US leader ever.<\/p>\n<p>US Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/us-war-with-cuba\" target=\"_self\">introduced<\/a> a war powers resolution aimed at preventing Trump from attacking Cuba without congressional authorization as required by law. The resolution could be put to a vote as soon as Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>Numerous war powers resolutions related to Iran, Venezuela, and Trump\u2019s extralegal high seas boat bombings have <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/senate-gop-blocks-iran-war-powers\" target=\"_self\">failed to pass<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>World leaders, activists, and academics are among those urging the US to lift the embargo on Cuba.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStop this damned blockade on Cuba and let the Cuban people live their lives,\u201d Brazilian President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/pauleric70.bsky.social\/post\/3mjsg53pdts2w\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> last week in Barcelona. \u201cCuba has problems. But they are Cuba\u2019s problems. Not Lula\u2019s. Not Trump\u2019s. Not the empire\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The publication Monday of another report showing that President Donald Trump\u2019s tightening of the 65-year US embargo of Cuba over his two terms in office is \u201clikely the primary cause of a major increase in infant mortality\u201d on the economically besieged island prompted renewed calls for the lifting of deadly sanctions. The report by Alexander [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":372,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"coauthors":[806],"class_list":["post-58961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"meta_box":{"disable_donate_message":"0","custom_donate_message":"","subtitle":"\u201cThe question is how many more babies will have to die before the current economic siege against Cuba is lifted.\u201d"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/372"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58961"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58966,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58961\/revisions\/58966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58961"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=58961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}