by Stephen Prager | Mar 20, 2026 | Article, cuba, Politics and Movements: International, Politics and Movements: US, Reprint
This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on Mar. 20, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license.
As the Trump administration sows chaos with a crushing fuel blockade of Cuba, a general told Congress that the military will “set up a camp” at Guantánamo Bay to detain those who try to flee the humanitarian crisis inflicted by the United States.
The phrase “humanitarian crisis” was used by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) to describe the situation in Cuba during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, as he questioned US Marine Corps Gen. Francis Donovan, the commander of the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).
Donovan, a 37-year Marine veteran, took command of SOUTHCOM in February after being tapped by President Donald Trump. His predecessor, Adm. Alvin Holsey, abruptly resigned in December reportedly after he’d raised concerns about the Trump administration’s bombings of alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean, which have been widely described as illegal under international law.
On Thursday, Cotton asked Donovan, “Are we prepared for any kind of humanitarian crisis in Cuba—the possible flow of refugees, other civil disorder that may threaten our interests, especially if the decrepit, corrupt Castro regime finally falls or flees?”
“Senator, yes we are,” Donovan responded. “SOUTHCOM… We have an [executive] order to be prepared to support [the Department of Homeland Security] (DHS) in a mass migration event. They would take the lead, we would follow.”
Donovan said this would include using the US military base at Guantánamo Bay, “where we would set up a camp to deal with those migrants or any overflow from any situation in Cuba itself.”
As US starves Cuba of energy & food, neocon Cotton wants DOD to be ready for a “humanitarian crisis,” “flow of
by Amy Goodman | Mar 18, 2026 | Blockade, cuba, electrical grid, Havana, Interview, Miguel Díaz-Canel, Regime Change, Sanctions, Trump Administration
Cuba’s electrical grid has collapsed. The island-wide blackout comes amid a harsh U.S. oil blockade and recent comments from President Donald Trump that he wants to “take” Cuba. No oil shipments have reached the country, located just south of Florida, in three months, compounding a humanitarian crisis caused by decades of severe U.S. sanctions. “Sanctions are literally killing people right now,”…
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by Marc Steiner | Mar 17, 2026 | cuba, Podcast, Politics and Movements: International, Politics and Movements: US, The Marc Steiner Show, Trump
With Cuba’s electric grid collapsing this week, the inhumane results of the Trump administration’s oil blockade continue to pile up and strangle Cuba and its people. In this urgent episode of The Marc Steiner Show, Marc speaks with American activist and co-founder of CODEPINK Medea Benjamin about her latest trip to Cuba, the extent of the devastation caused by the US-imposed blockade, and the twisted motivations behind it.
Medea Benjamin will be sailing to bring humanitarian aid to Cuba with the Nuestra América Flotilla on March 21, 2026.
Guests:
Medea Benjamin is co-founder of Global Exchange and CODEPINK: Women for Peace. She is the author or co-author of numerous books, including: War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict; Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran; and Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control.
Additional links/info:
Democracy Now!, “Report from Havana as Trump threatens to “take” Cuba & pushes for ouster of Cuban leader”
Michael Fox, Under the Shadow / TRNN, “Trump’s war on Cuba: Crisis made in the USA | Under the Shadow S2E7”
Marc Steiner, The Marc Steiner Show / TRNN, “SOS: The US is manufacturing a humanitarian crisis in Cuba”
Credits:
Producer: Rosette Sewali
Studio Production: David Hebden
Audio Post-Production: Stephen Frank
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Marc Steiner:
Welcome to the Marc Steiner Show here in The Real News. I’m Marc Steiner. It’s great to have you all with us. Cuba is under attack from the United States. Relations between our countries have been intense since the revolution of 1960, when they overthrew that fascist government of Batista.
by Erica Woodland | Mar 16, 2026 | cuba, Politics and Movements: International, Politics and Movements: US, video
The US government is deliberately strangling the island nation of Cuba, and people are dying. At a recent event hosted in the TRNN studio in Baltimore, Maryland, legendary activist and publisher Paul Coates spoke about his recent humanitarian trip to Cuba, the suffering US sanctions are inflicting on the Cuban people, and the responsibility people of African descent have to stand in solidarity with Cuba.
This clip was recorded during a March 6, 2026, event titled “Paul Coates: Black Literary Production—From Propaganda to Publishing,” hosted by TRNN in Baltimore, Maryland, and organized by Tubman House and Eddie’s Front Porch.
Guests
W. Paul Coates is the founder of Black Classic Press and BCP Digital Printing. Black Classic Press, established in 1978, specializes in republishing obscure and significant works by and about people of African descent. A former member of the Black Panther Party, Coates led the effort to establish the Black Panther Archives at Howard University.
Additional links/info
Michael Fox, Under the Shadow, TRNN: “Trump’s war on Cuba: Crisis made in the USA | Under the Shadow S2E7”
Marc Steiner, The Marc Steiner Show, TRNN: “SOS: The US is manufacturing a humanitarian crisis in Cuba”
Credits
Producer / Videographer / Editor: Cameron Granadino
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. An updated version will be made available as soon as possible.
Erica Woodland: So I know that you recently just returned from a trip to Cuba and I wanted to actually open up some space to hear about some of your insights and how some of your experiences there really fold into this conversation around how we’re archiving and lifting up our people’s revolutionary traditions.
Paul Coates: So thank
by Alexander Main | Mar 6, 2026 | Boat Strikes, Caribbean, China, cuba, Daniel Noboa, Donald Trump, Ecuador, Interventionism, Javier Milei, Latin America, Marco Rubio, Nasry Asfura, Nicolás Maduro, Op-Ed, Trump Administration, Venezuela
For nearly three years the Dominican Republic had been excitedly preparing to host the region’s biggest multilateral event: the 2025 Summit of the Americas, bringing together the leaders of nearly every government in the Western Hemisphere. But on November 3rd, only a month before the summit was to take place, the DR’s foreign ministry abruptly announced the postponement of the event citing…
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by Michael Fox | Mar 5, 2026 | cuba, Podcast, Politics and Movements: International, Politics and Movements: US, Trump, Under the Shadow
