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Knowledge in seven steps

· Helfen statt Blockieren editorial team

From the question of what a blockade is to the case of the year. Each step begins with a lead article that tells how things connect. Below it are the building blocks that document it: topic sheets, data, maps, articles and the magazine.

  • Lead articlestell how a step fits together and lead on to the evidence.
  • Look upTopic sheets, country situations, globe, time series, EU timeline, UN vote and voices, every figure with source and date.
  • Go deeperChapters, articles, a short study, briefings for companies and the magazine.

  1. What is a blockade, and who imposes it?

    Sanction, embargo, blockade: what the words mean, who sanctions and why there have been so many more since 2018. In 1950, 18 sanctions cases were in force; in 2023 there were 615.

    Lead articleWho blocks whom, and why it keeps growing

  2. Whom does it hit?

    A block travels from the rule through bank, insurer and supplier into the family. In the end it hits people who decided nothing, in the target country and here too.

    Lead articleHow a blockade works: from the law to the family

  3. What does it cost?

    Research finds losses in the target country and in the sanctioning country. There is no single figure for “the cost”; anyone who gives one should show their assumptions.

    Lead articleHow a blockade works: from the law to the family

  4. What is permitted?

    Food, medicines and humanitarian aid are exempt almost everywhere. Since 1996 the EU has protected its firms against certain foreign sanctions laws.

    Lead articlePermitted and still blocked: the heart of the problem

  5. How does aid still get through?

    Between “permitted” and “arrived” stand conditions, banks, supply chains and obstacles in the target country. Where someone makes the check easy, aid gets through.

    Lead articlePermitted and still blocked: the heart of the problem

  6. What can anyone do?

    Companies, banks, associations and every individual have means the law already provides: from the free helpdesk to the basic account to a donation to an aid organisation.

    Lead articleWhat companies, banks and every individual can do

  7. The week of 2026 as a case: Cuba

    Cuba shows every step: an embargo dating from the early 1960s, tightened in 2026, and a leadership that builds obstacles of its own and holds political prisoners. The week sets both halves side by side.

    Lead articleCuba 2026 as a case: what the week shows

    Online workshops 16 to 19 November, culture week in Berlin 20 to 24 November 2026.

These pages are information, not legal advice. They set the view of the imposing and the affected side next to each other; “Helfen statt Blockieren” is non-partisan. Please report errors to info@aciel-martinez-poll.com.

All topics at a glance

What people need and what blockades and sanctions touch. Twelve topic sheets with countries, documented examples and counterpoints, plus four background pieces.

Topic sheets

Medicine and medical supplies

Medicines are exempt almost everywhere. They are still missing because payment, spare part or supplier get stuck elsewhere.

69 %of medicines inaccessible to Cubans, according to information given to the UN Special RapporteurSource 1

Food and agriculture

Food is allowed, but not everywhere financeable. Fertiliser, seed and livestock vaccines depend on the same payment channels.

476.74million US dollars of US agricultural exports to Cuba in 2025, mostly poultrySource 2

Energy and electricity

No fuel means no pump, no fridge, no hospital. In 2026 Cuba’s grid collapsed nationwide several times.

18hours of blackout per day in Cuba, according to information given to the UN Special RapporteurSource 1

Water and sanitation

Water needs pumps, chlorine and power. Where one is missing, nothing comes out of the tap.

30days between two water supplies in some regions of Cuba, according to information given to the UN Special RapporteurSource 1

Money and transfers

The family’s money does not arrive, the association’s account is closed. De-risking also hits what is allowed.

6.36 %is the global average cost of a remittance (World Bank, as of 18 August 2025; fourth quarter of 2024: 6.26 %); the UN target for 2030 is 3 percentSource 3

Trade and small businesses

Large firms have legal departments. Small traders learn of a block when the payment bounces.

10 %US content in the value of goods has been enough since 2019 for a shipment from Europe to Cuba to need a US licenceSource 4

Education and science

A blocked software account, an ended partnership: knowledge depends on platforms and partners.

320online platforms and products are geo-blocked for users in Cuba, including learning materials, according to information given to the UN Special RapporteurSource 1

Culture and travel

Anyone who has visited Cuba needs a visa for the US. Tours, exchanges and family visits depend on travel rules.

12categories of authorised travel to Cuba exist in US law; tourism is not one of themSource 5

Transport and spare parts

An aircraft without a spare part stays on the ground. A ship that calls at Cuba may not load in US ports for 180 days.

180days during which a ship may not load or unload in US ports after a trade call in CubaSource 6

Communication and the internet

Sanctions block platforms from outside, governments block sites from inside. Both hit the same users.

19/100points is Freedom House’s 2026 score for the internet in Cuba; rating: not freeSource 7

Humanitarian aid and aid organisations

Since 2022 there has been a general UN humanitarian exemption. Banks remain cautious nonetheless.

2664is the UN Security Council resolution of 9 December 2022 exempting humanitarian aid from UN asset freezesSource 8

Migration as a consequence

When power, medicines and income are lacking, people leave. Those who leave name more than one reason.

9.4 minhabitants in Cuba at the end of 2025 according to the statistics office, against 9.7 million a year earlierSource 9

Background

The ecosystem of a blockade

A block does not stay where it is decided. It travels through banks, insurers and suppliers into the family.

What the EU has done

From the 1996 Blocking Statute to the 2026 debate over the International Criminal Court: EU measures against effects on third parties and for humanitarian exemptions.

Voices

39 checked quotes from the UN, the EU, governments on both sides, churches, aid groups, business and human rights organisations.

Putting the UN vote in context

28 October 2026: 130 in favour, 17 against, 25 abstentions. The figures since 1992 and how it was reported.

How many sanctions regimes there are

15sanctions regimes of the UN Security CouncilSource 10
over 40EU sanctions regimes according to the Commission (17 Nov 2025)Source 11
≈ 48EU regimes according to the External Action Service overview 2026, 28 of them thematicSource 12

Figures marked “according to information given to” are not the cited body’s own measurements but information presented to it.

This page is information, not legal advice. It reports what authorities, courts, governments and organisations decide and say; the views of the side imposing measures and of the side affected stand side by side. “Helfen statt Blockieren” is non-partisan. Please report errors to info@aciel-martinez-poll.com.

Sources

  1. OHCHR, Special Rapporteur Alena Douhan, Preliminary findings of the visit to Cuba, end of mission statement, 11 to 21 November 2025, 21 Nov 2025. Many figures there are marked “reportedly”, i.e. based on information presented to her. https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2133521/20251121-eom-stm-cuba-sr-negative-impact-unilateral-en.pdf
  2. US Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service, Cuba country page, US agricultural exports, 3 Nov 2026. https://www.fas.usda.gov/regions/cuba
  3. World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide, Home page with global average, update of 18 August 2025, 18 Aug 2025. https://remittanceprices.worldbank.org/node/1
  4. Kelley Drye, “BIS tightens Cuba restrictions, lowers de minimis threshold to 10 percent (Federal Register Doc. 2019-22876)”, 21 Oct 2019. https://www.kelleydrye.com/viewpoints/blogs/trade-and-manufacturing-monitor/bis-tightens-cuba-restrictions-lowers-de-minimis-threshold-to-10-percent
  5. 31 CFR § 515.560, text at Cornell LII, “Travel-related transactions to, from, and within Cuba by persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction”, 3 Nov 2026. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/31/515.560
  6. 31 CFR § 515.207, text at Cornell LII, “Entry of vessels engaged in trade with Cuba”, 3 Nov 2026. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/31/515.207
  7. Freedom House, “Cuba: Freedom on the Net 2026”, 3 Nov 2026. https://freedomhouse.org/country/cuba/freedom-net/2026
  8. UN Security Council, press release SC/15134 (9214. meeting), Report on the adoption of Resolution 2664 (2022), 9 Dec 2022. https://press.un.org/en/node/311942
  9. Arab News (AFP), after figures of the statistics office ONEI of 21.7.2026, “Cuba’s population slide continued in 2025 to 9.4 mn”, 22 Jul 2026. https://www.arabnews.pk/node/2651891/world
  10. UN Security Council, Sanctions page, list of sanctions committees, 3 Nov 2026. https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/sanctions/information
  11. European Commission, “What are sanctions (restrictive measures)”, 17 Nov 2025. https://finance.ec.europa.eu/eu-and-world/sanctions-restrictive-measures/overview-sanctions-and-related-resources_en
  12. European External Action Service, Overview EU restrictive measures 2026, 10 Sep 2026. Stated there: “≈48 sanctions regimes in place”, 28 of them thematic. Date taken from the file name; the document states none. https://www.eeas.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2026/documents/2026_9_10_restrictive_measures_2.pdf

All online sources accessed on 3 November 2026.

All topics

More in Knowledge

Blockades worldwide

Country situations with source and date, the globe “who sanctions whom” and latest news.

Wars and conflicts since 1926

Figures on wars and deaths with open data and method.

Articles and chapters

Pieces, a short study and three chapters on the economic effects of blockades.

Briefings for companies

Five short briefings with checkpoints and sources.

The magazine

Read online or as a PDF.

Sanctions since 1950: the time series

Who has sanctioned more since when, with what and why. Sanction cases from 1914 to 2023 from three research datasets.

Economic bloc against economic bloc

US and China, EU and Russia, the Gulf: who blocks whom with what, and harmful trade measures since 2009.

Blockades of the world economy

Magazine chapter: the main blockades of the world economy in autumn 2026 and the damage beyond their targets.