By Mafa Kwanisai Mafa

History has a remarkable way of exposing the contradictions of great powers. Those who speak most loudly about democracy, human rights and the rules-based international order are often the very ones who disregard these principles when dealing with countries that refuse to submit to their geopolitical interests. Cuba remains perhaps the clearest example of this contradiction.

More than six decades after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, the Caribbean island continues to face one of the longest and most comprehensive systems of economic sanctions in modern history. Rather than fading into history after the Cold War, these sanctions have become even more aggressive under renewed “maximum pressure” policies. Recent reports, including revelations discussed in The Nation, suggest that elements within the United States government are fully aware that escalating sanctions are worsening Cuba’s humanitarian crisis, yet continue to pursue them as instruments of political coercion.

This raises an uncomfortable but necessary question. If policymakers knowingly implement measures that deprive ordinary people of food, fuel, medicine and electricity in pursuit of political objectives, can such a policy genuinely be described as one motivated by humanitarian concern?

The reality confronting ordinary Cubans today is heartbreaking. Hospitals struggle with shortages of essential medicines. Frequent power cuts disrupt schools, businesses and healthcare services. Transport systems have become unreliable because of fuel shortages. Food production has been severely affected by lack of inputs and energy. Even Cuba’s internationally respected healthcare system has come under unprecedented strain as equipment cannot be repaired and essential supplies become increasingly difficult to obtain.

These are not abstract statistics. They are lived experiences affecting millions of ordinary families whose greatest concern is not ideological confrontation but simply putting food on the table and caring for their children.

Supporters of the sanctions argue that the pressure is directed only at the Cuban government. Yet economic reality rarely works so neatly. When fuel imports collapse, ambulances stop moving. When banking restrictions tighten, hospitals struggle to purchase medical equipment. When foreign companies fear secondary sanctions, ordinary consumers face shortages of necessities.

Economic warfare seldom distinguishes between governments and civilians. Ironically, the same Cuba that now faces extraordinary hardship has, for decades, demonstrated a remarkable commitment to international solidarity. Cuban doctors have served in disaster zones, remote African villages, and underserved communities across Latin America and the Caribbean. Thousands of healthcare professionals have volunteered where wealthier nations often failed to respond. During previous global health emergencies, Cuban medical brigades became symbols of humanitarian cooperation that transcended ideology.

It is therefore deeply troubling that recent U.S. initiatives have reportedly sought to pressure other countries to discontinue the use of Cuban medical missions as part of a broader strategy to isolate Havana.

One does not have to agree with every aspect of Cuba’s political system to recognise the value of those doctors who have saved countless lives around the world. One does not have to be a socialist to acknowledge that sick patients deserve medicine regardless of politics.

One does not have to support every decision made in Havana to reject policies that deepen human suffering. This is where many international observers, including long-time critics of the Cuban government, increasingly find common ground. Humanitarian principles demand consistency. If collective punishment is unacceptable elsewhere, it should also be unacceptable when directed at Cuba.

The overwhelming majority of countries represented at the United Nations have repeatedly voted against the U.S. embargo. Year after year, the international community has argued that disputes between states should not be resolved through measures that inflict disproportionate suffering upon civilian populations. That diplomatic consensus has remained remarkably consistent across different regions, political systems and ideological traditions.

For Africa, Cuba’s story carries particular historical significance. When many African liberation movements stood isolated against colonial rule and apartheid, Cuba offered support that far exceeded its economic capacity. Cuban soldiers fought alongside Angolan forces against apartheid South Africa’s military incursions. Cuban teachers and doctors contributed to African development. Thousands of African students received education and medical training in Cuban institutions.

These are not forgotten chapters. They remain part of Africa’s collective historical memory. This does not imply that Cuba should be romanticised or viewed as a flawless society. Like every nation, Cuba faces serious internal challenges, policy shortcomings and legitimate criticism. Economic reforms remain necessary. Governance can always improve. Constructive debate within Cuban society is both inevitable and healthy.

However, genuine reform cannot flourish under permanent external siege. History shows that societies develop most successfully when change emerges through internal dialogue rather than external coercion. Indeed, many economists argue that sanctions often produce outcomes opposite to those intended. Rather than encouraging openness, prolonged economic isolation can strengthen nationalist sentiment, reduce policy flexibility and deepen mistrust between governments.

Dialogue generally creates more opportunities than punishment. Engagement usually yields better results than isolation. Respect tends to build more lasting partnerships than coercion. Recent reports indicate that Cuba has introduced significant economic reforms aimed at attracting investment, expanding private enterprise and modernising aspects of its economy while retaining its socialist framework. Whether these reforms succeed remains uncertain, but they demonstrate that internal evolution is already underway.

Such developments deserve careful observation rather than immediate dismissal. The broader issue extends beyond Cuba itself. At stake is the principle of national sovereignty.

Should powerful countries possess the unilateral authority to determine which governments deserve access to international trade, financial systems and essential resources? Should economic pressure become an acceptable substitute for diplomacy? Should ordinary civilians bear the greatest cost of geopolitical competition? These questions concern every developing country, not only Cuba.

Today it may be Havana. Tomorrow it could be another nation whose political choices conflict with the interests of a more powerful state. For countries across the Global South, the Cuban experience serves as a reminder that defending sovereignty requires defending international law consistently, regardless of ideological preferences. The world faces enough common challenges climate change, pandemics, food insecurity and economic inequality without creating additional humanitarian crises through avoidable political confrontation.

Peaceful coexistence does not require political agreement. It requires mutual respect. The Cuban people deserve the opportunity to determine their own future free from external economic strangulation. Their political choices should be debated by Cubans themselves, not dictated through policies that make daily survival increasingly difficult.

If democracy truly rests upon the will of the people, then that principle must also include respecting the right of nations to choose their own developmental paths without collective punishment. The measure of a just international order is not how it treats its allies. It is how it treats those with whom it disagrees. On that test, the continued economic siege of Cuba remains one of the defining moral questions of our time.