UN Experts Condemn US Tariffs On Countries Supplying Oil To Cuba

In a press release issued today, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Press Office criticized the provision signed by the US president on January 29, 2026.

The measure imposes what experts described as a fuel blockade on Cuba and violates international law, posing a serious threat to a democratic and equitable international order.

“This is an extreme form of unilateral economic coercion with extraterritorial effects, whereby the US seeks to exert coercion over the sovereign state of Cuba and compel third sovereign states to modify their lawful trade relations under the threat of punitive trade measures,” the experts said.

They also rejected claims that Cuba poses an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US national security or supports “transnational terrorist groups,” describing such allegations as lacking credibility.

The statement emphasized that, “in the absence of authorization from the UN Security Council, the executive order has no basis in collective security and constitutes a unilateral act contrary to international law.”

“There is no power under international law that allows the imposition of economic sanctions on third states for engaging in lawful trade with another sovereign country,” the experts added.

The UN specialists warned that the executive order violates the principles of sovereign equality, non-intervention, and self-determination outlined in Article 2(1) of the UN Charter.

They argued that the measure also circumvents multilateral frameworks governing