Cuba says US embargo caused record $8 billion damage over past year

Cuba says the US embargo caused more than $8 billion in economic damage between March 2025 and February 2026, a record annual loss. (Image: Reuters) Cuba says the US economic embargo caused more than $8 billion in damage between March 2025 and February 2026, a record annual loss according to the Cuban government. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said Monday that the figure was 7% higher than the damage estimated for the corresponding period a year earlier. Rodriguez said the latest estimate did not include the impact of what he called an 'energy siege' imposed by Washington in January or secondary sanctions imposed on Cuban entities in May. 'I denounced the collective punishment to which the US government is subjecting the people of Cuba, with its energy siege, the extreme tightening of the blockade, and the application of secondary sanctions,' Rodriguez said. Cuba Puts Cumulative Embargo Damage At $178.7 Billion The Cuban government said the cumulative economic damage it attributes to the US embargo has reached $178.7 billion, up 4.7% from its previous report. The United States has maintained broad economic restrictions on Cuba since 1962. Rodriguez described the US measures as a 'genocidal blockade' and accused Washington of imposing collective punishment on the Cuban people. The latest assessment covers the period from March 2025 through February 2026. It does not include the economic impact Cuba attributes to the energy measures introduced in January or the secondary sanctions imposed in May. The latest figures bring Cuba's estimate of the cumulative economic damage from the US embargo to nearly $179 billion.