July 17, 2026
The Nonpartisan Parliamentary Association for Reconsidering Human Rights Diplomacy on July 15 in the Diet building met with Cuban Ambassador to Japan Gisela Garcia and heard about the ongoing humanitarian crisis stemmed mainly from a strict oil and fuel blockade imposed by the U.S. Trump administration.
Among the lawmakers present at the meeting were Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira (association’s vice chair) and former Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru (association’s chair).
According to the ambassador, in Cuba, since the Trump administration imposed a fuel embargo in January, oil imports have been cut off and only one of the eight tankers needed each month has arrived during this period. She said that this has led to major disruptions in people’s daily lives, such as power outages lasting 20 hours a day, restriction on domestic travel, and shortages of food and medical supplies. Pointing to a rise in the under-5 mortality rate as well as in the number of patients on surgical waiting lists, the ambassador condemned the U.S. administration’s measures as “a war without a declaration of war”.
In discussions with the ambassador, Koike said, “The Trump administration’s collective punishment against Cuba is a clear violation of international law and amounts to a war crime.”
Questions and comments raised by other attendees included inquiries about the negative impact on Cuba’s program of dispatching doctors to other developing countries.
The ambassador in her response said that the Trump administration is pressuring those countries to stop accepting medical professionals, and added, “Freedom of navigation and freedom of trade have been undermined. International law has not been upheld.”
Among the lawmakers present at the meeting were Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira (association’s vice chair) and former Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru (association’s chair).
According to the ambassador, in Cuba, since the Trump administration imposed a fuel embargo in January, oil imports have been cut off and only one of the eight tankers needed each month has arrived during this period. She said that this has led to major disruptions in people’s daily lives, such as power outages lasting 20 hours a day, restriction on domestic travel, and shortages of food and medical supplies. Pointing to a rise in the under-5 mortality rate as well as in the number of patients on surgical waiting lists, the ambassador condemned the U.S. administration’s measures as “a war without a declaration of war”.
In discussions with the ambassador, Koike said, “The Trump administration’s collective punishment against Cuba is a clear violation of international law and amounts to a war crime.”
Questions and comments raised by other attendees included inquiries about the negative impact on Cuba’s program of dispatching doctors to other developing countries.
The ambassador in her response said that the Trump administration is pressuring those countries to stop accepting medical professionals, and added, “Freedom of navigation and freedom of trade have been undermined. International law has not been upheld.”
