The use of a law that should have no place in contemporary international relations demonstrates the U S. administration's obstinacy in maintaining the economic, commercial, and financial blockade against Cuba intact, ignoring the majority rejection of the international community and the clamor within the United States itself for this policy to end.
Recently, in its eagerness to show hostility and exert maximum pressure on the Cuban people, the White House revalidated the application of the so-called Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA), an archaic and aggressive legal instrument passed in 1917 during World War I.
This was denounced by Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, member of the Political Bureau of the PCC and foreign minister, through his account on social network X, in which he pointed out that this measure is "part of the U.S. government's effort to suffocate the Cuban economy."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio was responsible for announcing the extension of this law for another year, until September 14, 2026. The renewal was signed by President Donald Trump on August 29, according to the official document published on September 4 in the Federal Register.
Each year, the president in office must sign this extension, which grants him the power to regulate exports to Cuba, allowing him to maintain and renew the blockade against the island annually, using the law as the legal basis for the Treasury Department's regulations.
In addition, this legislation allows for the issuance of limitations on export licenses, especially for sensitive products, and maintains strict supervision of financial and commercial transactions linked to the largest of the Antilles.
With this decision, Washington insists on its strategy of siege to generate hunger and despair among Cuban families, a goal that has historically failed thanks to the resistance of the Cuban people and international solidarity.
