Hundreds of Cuban women rally against US energy blockade as crisis
deepens
[April 08, 2026]
By ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ
HAVANA (AP) — Hundreds of Cuban women gathered Tuesday in Havana to
decry a U.S. energy embargo and other measures imposed by U.S. President
Donald Trump that are strangling the Caribbean island.
The rally was organized by the Federation of Cuban Women, a massive
organization with close ties to the government and the Communist Party,
to honor the late Vilma Espín, the federation’s founder, a guerrilla
fighter and Raúl Castro’s wife.
The crowd that gathered at a park commemorating a 19th-century
independence patriot waved Cuban flags, held signs that read “Down with
the Blockade" and clutched pictures of Fidel Castro and Espín.
Deputy Prime Minister Inés María Chapman and Deputy Foreign Minister
Josefina Vidal led the demonstration along with Mariela Castro, daughter
of Espín and former President Raúl Castro.
“This policy of abuse has to stop," Vidal told The Associated Press.
“The Cuban people don’t deserve this. It’s the most comprehensive,
all-encompassing, and longest-running system of coercive measures ever
imposed against an entire country.”
Vidal, a key negotiator in a historic rapprochement between Cuba and the
United States in 2014 under the administration of former U.S. President
Barack Obama, added: “It subjects us to collective punishment,
recognized as such under international law, and we couldn’t fail to be
here."
In early January, the U.S. attacked Venezuela and arrested its
then-leader, disrupting critical oil shipments to Cuba. Later that
month, Trump threatened tariffs against any country that sells or
supplies oil to the island.
However, Trump said he didn't mind when a Russian tanker carrying
730,000 barrels of crude oil arrived in Cuba last week, marking the
island's first oil shipment in three months. Russia has since said it
would send a second tanker.
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Women attend a rally calling for the end of the U.S. blockade
against the island nation in Havana, Cuba, Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
(AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Cuba produces only 40% of the fuel it consumes, and the shortage has
paralyzed the Caribbean nation, affecting its health system, public
transportation and the production of goods and services, and
deepened an economic crisis that has plagued the island for the past
five years.
“I am here fighting for the people of Cuba," said Leydys de la Cruz,
a 57-year-old seamstress who joined Tuesday's rally. “I would ask
Trump to leave us in peace. The situation is very bad because of the
blockade he’s imposed on us.”
Georgina Reyes, a 36-year-old IT technician, also pleaded with
Trump: “I would tell him that we don’t hurt anyone. ... Please don’t
hurt us.”
Trump has pressured for regime change in Cuba and threatened to take
over the island while U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio — the son
of Cuban immigrants — has demanded the release of political
prisoners and liberal economic reforms.
The U.S. and Cuban governments have confirmed talks, but the extent
of those is unclear.
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