WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) —  The United Nations rights chief on Monday urged Washington to immediately lift tough sanctions imposed on Cuba this year, warning they were causing widespread suffering and endangering lives.

While Cuba has been under a United States (US) trade embargo since 1962, President Donald Trump has drastically ramped up pressure in recent months, cutting off its fuel supplies and threatening to take over the island.

“The fuel restrictions imposed since early 2026 and recent tightening of extraterritorial sanctions, taken together, are directly harming Cubans, especially the most vulnerable,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement.

“Children are dying because doctors lack access to essential medical supplies and medicines. This is unacceptable,” he said.

“These sanctions must be lifted immediately.”

The United States has been heaping pressure on Cuba, claiming the country’s communist regime threatens the security of Americans.

Trump has repeatedly stated it could be next to fall, after the January overthrow of Venezuela’s socialist leader, Nicolas Maduro and the US campaign against Iran.

US officials also brought an indictment against Cuba’s former president Raul Castro, in a case that dates back to 1996, fuelling speculation that Trump would try to topple the communist state.

Turk pointed out that the oil blockade had left Cuba with daily blackouts that frequently exceed 20 hours.

And additional sanctions imposed last month, some with extraterritorial effect on private entities like traders, insurers and shipping companies, had added to the misery.

“These measures, combined, are significantly affecting the population’s human rights,” Turk’s statement said.

It highlighted that critical medical services were under severe strain, with essential medicines in “critical short supply”.

Recent public health data indicated that infant mortality had doubled and childhood cancer survival rates had decreased since the fuel restrictions were imposed, the statement said.

It also highlighted a reported 60 per cent decrease in food production and spikes in the cost of basic food items.

“Such severe sanctions packages that target entire sectors of an economy and produce broad, indiscriminate and harsh effects on populations are incompatible with basic principles of international human rights law,” Turk said.