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As for today’s feature, we’re looking at Cuba.

You may have heard that Air Canada, WestJet, and Air Transat have suspended flights to the country due to a jet fuel shortage.

Cuba is facing a severe oil crunch that threatens electricity, running water, and the supply of food and medicine. The situation is serious enough that analysts warn of a potential humanitarian crisis.

At the centre of it is a pressure campaign tied to U.S. President Donald Trump that is restricting the island’s access to fuel imports.

That may finally lead to a collapse of a brutal regime, but is it worth the humanitarian crisis?

The breakdown is below.

-Neil Malik

U.S. President Donald Trump’s characterization of Cuba is fairly blunt. It’s a country that is “down for the count.”

But if America’s goal is to finally take down Cuba’s brutal, authoritarian regime, that description is exactly what he wants.

It’s also something 13 previous U.S. presidents were unable to accomplish — but Trump is on the brink of getting there.

Trump might see the oil chokehold as a means to an end, but it’s also pushing Cuba’s 11 million people toward a looming humanitarian disaster.

The Cuban government, in fact, calls it “genocidio económico” — an economic genocide designed to starve the nation into submission.

And while U.S. officials boast of sending $6 million in aid, it’s only needed because of the suffering caused by the fuel shortages in the first place. Talk about hypocrisy.