Next US Crime Against Humanity: Caribbean Mass-Slaughter | Dr. Richard Byron-Cox

## Cuba under blockade The conversation frames Cuba’s predicament not as a distant geopolitical quibble but as an ongoing humanitarian catastrophe produced largely by economic warfare. Across the exchange, the blockade emerges as a deliberate policy instrument designed to cripple everyday life—energy, water, hospitals, and food supplies—rather than merely a series of sanctions aimed at political elites. The argument is stark: when electricity cannot power ventilators or lights for emergency surgery, the blockade crosses the threshold from coercive diplomacy into mass punishment. That is the moral and legal stake the discussion insists we must confront. Dr. Richard Byron-Cox traces this current moment to a long arc of US policy that moved from open domination to a subtler but no less devastating form of control. After the Cuban Revolution of 1959 and the humiliating failure of initiatives like the Bay of Pigs, Washington chose economic strangulation as its weapon. The result, he emphasizes, is not abstract leverage but concrete human suffering: children without adequate nutrition, hospitals without reliable energy, and citizens forced to carry out emergency operations by the light of mobile phones. Framed this way, the blockade reads as an instrument of attrition—a slow, systematic attempt to break a society by denying the material prerequisites of life. The conversation also underlines how shifts in global alignments changed Cuba’s vulnerability. Cold War protection by the Soviet bloc and allied trade networks shielded Havana for decades; when that system collapsed, Cuba’s exposure to US coercion intensified. But rather than accept this as a mere episode in geopolitical realignments, the speakers insist on the ethical question: does disagreement with a country’s governance justify policies that risk mass civilian death? This is not a theoretical query for them. It is a demand for a reassessment of how power is exercised when it produces predictable civilian harm. ## Caribbean politics and US pressure The broader Caribbean is portrayed as a laboratory of imperial practice—where the Monroe Doctrine’s legacy collides with postcolonial aspirations. The discussion situates US pressure within a longer history of hemispheric control, where independence has often been a legal formality overlaid on continuing economic and strategic dependence. Small states without large populations, advanced technology, or extensive financial clout confront a systemic imbalance: dignity and law on one side, raw power on the other. Several Caribbean leaders historically framed their postcolonial posture as “friends of all and satellites of none,” an ethos Dr. Byron-Cox recalls from Barbados’ first prime minister. That formulation captured a regional aspiration: to navigate a crowded superpower landscape without being swallowed by it. Yet whenever local actors pursued socio-economic models at odds with US preferences—whether revolutionary Cuba or left-leaning experiments elsewhere—the response tended to be punitive and coercive. What stands out in the conversation is the continuity between old styles of colonial domination and contemporary practices of economic statecraft: different tools, similar outcomes. Importantly, this pressure is not uniform across the region. The conversation contrasts Cuba and Haiti—sites of active resistance and punishment—with islands that have been repurposed into tourism economies and financial havens. These divergent outcomes reveal how external actors privilege certain models of governance and development, rewarding compliance with investment and access while punishing political autonomy. ## Conditions inside Cuba The human detail the speakers supply transforms abstract geopolitics into urgent moral testimony. Energy shortages are not a policy statistic; they are the proximate cause of avoidable deaths. The blockade’s secondary effects—on water systems, food production, and basic public services—compound to create full-spectrum scarcity. Hospitals without reliable electricity, bakeries unable to function, and communities cutting essential services are the lived reality described by people with direct contacts inside the island. Dr. Byron-Cox recounts specific instances: doctors working by phone-light, ventilator-dependent patients dying for lack of power, and educational routines disrupted by shortages of water and electricity. His testimony is anchored in both personal connections and legal training: he frames the situation as a breach not simply of ethical norms but of international humanitarian expectations. The moral outrage in the conversation is therefore married to a demand for remedies—legal, diplomatic, and public-pressure tactics that could mitigate suffering. The speakers also insist that Cuba’s endurance over decades—its survival through the 1990s and beyond—should not be romanticized into a defense of current governance practices. Rather, endurance only heightens the injustice of the blockade: a society that has demonstrated resilience is being punished in ways that make basic life precarious. This tension—between political critique and humanitarian urgency—pervades the discussion and resists facile conclusions. ## Haiti and Caribbean neocolonialism Haiti features in the dialogue as a paradigmatic victim of colonial and neocolonial retaliation. Its history of the first successful slave revolt, its brutal post-independence isolation, and its ongoing economic and political destabilization are read together as evidence of a region punished for daring to reject domination. The speakers recount how Haiti’s rebellion against slavery produced not liberation but long-term retribution: debt, intervention, and chronic underdevelopment. In the conversation, Haiti’s plight is connected to broader patterns: the selective enforcement of sovereignty, the strategic use of economic pressure, and the facilitation of foreign extraction. The Dominican Republic, by contrast, is offered as an example of adaptation—becoming a service economy oriented toward tourism and foreign capital, and thus more readily integrated into prevailing global hierarchies. This contrast reveals how neocolonialism can operate through both coercion and co-option: islands that bow to external economic designs gain investment and access; islands that refuse face isolation and punishment. Crucially, the speakers refuse to reduce Haiti’s suffering to internal failings. Instead they highlight how foreign policy choices—blockades, sanctions, extraction, and military interventions—have structured the space in which Haitian agency is severely constrained. This is a reminder that historical injustice continues to shape present-day vulnerability. ## Resistance history and African roots The conversation foregrounds a cultural and moral lineage that ties Caribbean resistance to African heritage. From Marcus Garvey’s call to remember the past to Bob Marley’s invocation of Haile Selassie, resistance in the Caribbean is presented as both political strategy and spiritual inheritance. Dr. Byron-Cox emphasizes that the region’s identity is inseparable from its African roots: the memory of enslavement, the cultural resilience, and the ethos of freedom are ongoing resources in struggles against domination. This connection is not merely rhetorical. The speakers suggest it has practical consequences: solidarity networks, revolutionary memory, and a moral language that frames contemporary struggles as continuations of anti-colonial resistance. The Atlantic crossing that brought enslaved Africans to the Caribbean left a cultural memory of resistance and a moral vocabulary—justice, dignity, collective struggle—that continues to animate regional politics. The discussion also stresses the role of international law as both shield and tool for small states. For Caribbean lawyers and leaders, legal instruments represent a nonviolent arena for contesting power. Yet the speakers are candi

Next US Crime Against Humanity: Caribbean Mass-Slaughter | Dr. Richard Byron-Cox Not just Cuba, but the entire Caribbean region is under intense US threat from blockade, hunger, bombing, and old colonial habits dressed up as foregin policy. Today, I speak with Dr. Richard Byron- Cox, a Caribbean-born author with a PhD in public international law, about Cuba’s deep crisis, Haiti’s long suffering, and the wider struggle of small states facing raw power. The discussion moves from the history of the Monroe Doctrine and the Cuban Revolution to present claims about sanctions, energy shortages, intervention, and fear across Caribbean waters. I also push the question of whether change can come from law, diplomacy, public pressure, or reform inside the West itself. The result is a hard exchange on justice, sovereignty, resistance, and the future of shared human life. Dr. Byron-Cox's Links: Were Mama’s Tears in Vain?: https://www.abebooks.com/9781969368486 /Mama%E2%80%99s-Tears-Vain-Byron-Cox-Richard-1969368489/plp Living in wisdom – an examination of human nature: https://www.abebooks.com/9781970749342/Living-wisdom- examination-human-nature-1970749342/plp The Story of Paulene Bramble: Book One: https://www. amazon.com/Story-Paulene-Bramble-Springs-Blossoms-ebook/dp/B0DDVN4JJ9 Neutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com (Opt in for Academic Section from your profile settings: https://pascallottaz.substack.com/s/academic) Merch & Donations: https://neutralitystudies-shop. fourthwall.com Timestamps: 00:00:00 Cuba under blockade 00:01:07 Caribbean politics and US pressure 00:08:30 Conditions inside Cuba 00:11:00 Haiti and Caribbean neocolonialism 00:20:13 Resistance history and African roots 00:31:51 Regional alliances and coercion 00:38:29 Reform power and imperial decline 00:52:09 Common humanity and final reflections #Pascal While the world is focused on the Iran war that the United States and Israel started a month ago, a different crime against humanity is largely being ignored. The U.S. is also starving Cuba to death with a medieval-style sea blockade. In general, the many crimes in the Caribbean are heavily underreported. We want to change that today, and it’s my great pleasure to welcome Dr. Richard Byron Cox, a Caribbean-born author with a PhD in public international law. Dr. Byron Cox, welcome. Welcome. #Richard Byron-Cox -- 1 of 19 -- Good. Professor Pascal Lottaz, it's an honor and a pleasure to be here. Thank you so very much for having me. But more importantly, thank you for giving the Caribbean the chance to share our side of the story as well. That's really important to us. #Pascal It is. And, you know, I wouldn’t have had the idea if you hadn’t written me an email and pointed that out. And you’re completely right—the Caribbean should not be ignored. We actually just had a situation over there with Venezuela, but we’re having one right now with Cuba. Can we maybe start with that? I mean, how is the entire Caribbean politically developing at the moment? And what’s the impact of the United States’ new, kind of insane, version of coerciveness? #Richard Byron-Cox Yes. Well, as you’re aware, as a student of history, after the War of 1812 between the United States and its former bosses—so to speak, England—eleven years later there was what was called the Monroe Doctrine, by James Monroe, who was then president of the United States. And it was sort of the idea that, look, you know, this is the Americas, and you Europeans should settle down now— colonialism is over. However, that did not apply to the English-speaking Caribbean, okay? We still maintained, until quite recently, our colonial relationship. However, as regards Cuba, as you know, Cuba’s independence came about after what was called the Spanish-American War. And you’re aware of that. Now, however, after Cuba gained its independence at the beginning of the 20th century, it really became a colony of the United States in many ways. Everything was owned and run by the Americans and so on, until an upstart called Fidel Castro came on the scene. On the 1st of January, 1959, Fidel led a revolution. That was the first socialist revolution, in general terms a military one, in our Caribbean. And, of course, the Americans never liked that. Fidel only wanted the best for his people, for that island, and he set about changing the economic system. Practically everything in Cuba at the time was owned by the Americans. And so, um, the Americans didn’t like this. You might have heard—I'm sure you know—about what was called the Bay of Pigs invasion, in the early ’60s. They decided to overthrow Fidel, but Fidel humbled them, and that wasn’t good. At that time, as you know, John F. Kennedy was president of the United States of America. A year later, in 1962, we had what was called the Cuban Missile Crisis, when there was a man named Khrushchev, who was then president of what was then the Soviet Union, and, to protect Cuba, he decided to put some missiles down there. And that led to what was called the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was the first time, actually, that the world came close to what is called a nuclear war. -- 2 of 19 -- As you know, in 1947, the Board of Atomic Scientists announced the establishment of what is called the Doomsday Clock. It's not a real clock; it's an imaginary one that shows how close we are to midnight, you know? And every year, around the 20th of January, they set it to show how close we are to midnight. That was the closest we had come to midnight until now. I think we're pretty close to midnight now—I think you'd agree with that—but that's another discussion. Let's get back to Cuba. The Cubans humbled the Americans at the Bay of Pigs, you know, and the Americans couldn’t swallow that. They couldn’t accept it. So what happened? They established what was called an economic blockade of Cuba, and that blockade continues to this day. Basically, the idea was to starve Cuba into submission. #Pascal Yeah, but it’s gotten worse recently, right? I mean, on the one hand, you had the blockade, but now it includes even more, and it’s being enforced much more strictly than before. #Richard Byron-Cox Yes. Well, two things happened there that saved Cuba. First, there was the Soviet Union at the time, as you know, and the Soviet Union established strong trade with Cuba and the other socialist countries. As a matter of fact, there were, you could say, two Europes—Eastern Europe and Western Europe. Even Germany was divided by the Berlin Wall in 1960, as you know. So Cuba’s survival was more or less guaranteed. Then the Soviet Union collapsed at the end of the 1980s, and Cuba faced serious economic challenges. But they survived. They fought, and they survived. Now, what’s happened is this: the new government in the United States, which came into power about a year ago, decided that, um, “we’re going to starve them to death.” So every single thing, you know, is being done to ensure—without using guns, without using bullets, at present, okay—that these people starve to death. Now, what you’re seeing here—I don’t know if you’re aware of this—but more than 60%, around 60%, of Cuba’s energy comes from abroad. It only provides about 40% of its own energy. The rest comes from abroad. And the Americans have determined that, look, you’re not going to get any energy. Now, let’s be practical and real here in our discussion. From water systems that need energy to pump water around the country, to the production of bread in a bakery that needs energy—okay?— what you’re looking at here, in real terms, is an attempt to starve a people into submission. Now, let’ s understand two basic things. First, each country has the right to have its political system as it sees fit. That’s the first thing. But second, even if you disagree with their political system, even if you hate their political leaders, does that give you the right to starve innocent children to death? I mean, you know, like I know, you can’t run a hospital without energy. You can’t run a hospital without water, which has to be pumped from somewhere. You can’t run a school without water. This -- 3 of 19 -- is a humanitarian crisis. People think it’s only Iran—and I don’t mean any disrespect to the people of Iran. I love the people of Iran, like I love all people. And they have a right to fight for their existence. But the existential crisis is not just in Iran; it’s in Cuba, and it’s real, you know. And Cuba is part of our Caribbean. #Pascal Hey, very brief intermission because I was recently banned from YouTube. And although I'm back, this could happen again at any time. So please consider subscribing not only here but also to my mailing list on Substack—that’s pascallottaz.substack.com. The link’s going to be in the description below. And now, back to the video. Excuse me, have you been there? Do you know what the situation on the ground is like at the moment? Or are you in contact with people there? Because you’ re on a different island. So is it still possible to actually talk to people in Cuba and keep those connections? #Richard Byron-Cox Yes, I do have some connections. I have personal friends there, and I write to them—we have exchanges. Even earlier today, I had some exchanges, and they explained to me in real terms that the situation is dire. You understand? It’s a serious situation, such that, believe it or not, I’m so disturbed that I’m sorry if my face shows some kind of emotion, because one is not supposed to be too emotional about these things. But people who needed ventilators to survive, and so on, are dead. That is what has happened. In some cases, they use mobile phones—the lights from mobile phones—to do emergency operations, which have to be done because they’re emergencies, and there’s no other light. You understand? This is where we are. This is a humanitarian crisis. This is evil being done to innocent children, you understand, on a scale never imagined before. And as I said, I haven’t been to Cuba recently because, in fact, I’ve been trying to get a flight down there so I can personally take things with me. That’s how close I am to some people. I haven’t been able to do that so far, but I’m still trying. Even though my friends tell me what’s happening, I’d like to go and see it myself. The reality we face in Cuba is that everything—from education to health, to basic needs like food—is affected in the country today. What we’re looking at is a humanitarian crisis that the world seems all too willing to ignore. #Pascal You know, Cuba has been a victim of this kind of economic strangulation for over 60 years, and the entire United Nations basically agrees that it should stop. Cuba also didn’t collapse in the 1990s, you know, when the Soviet Union and then Yugoslavia left the scene of the socialist bloc, right? Cuba and North Korea both showed that they are not the children of the same political developments. They maintained their stability, just like Iran did, in terms of governance structure. -- 4 of 19 -- At the same time, another Caribbean nation that has been suffering for over 300 years—Haiti—is being economically strangled, and even more so in a very, very vicious way. Meanwhile, its direct neighbor, the Dominican Republic, has basically given in to the fate of being just a holiday destination for rich white people from the north. They’re doing fine. Can you maybe put the different Caribbean nations into perspective and compare them with each other, just to give us a sense of how this Caribbean neocolonial way of managing the region is working? #Richard Byron-Cox Yes, well, as you know, the Caribbean had various colonial masters. We had the Dutch, the British, the French, and the Spanish. That’s why you have Caribbean islands that speak French, islands that speak Spanish, and so on. All of these powers brought their own culture and their own approach to managing their Caribbean territories. What has happened is this: in particula