Washington-Based Cuba Study Group Requests Humanitarian Exemptions for Cuba

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Issue Aug 26-Sep 01 2026: According to the Washington-based Cuba Study Group, a non-profit organization of professionals and business leaders who advocate for a free, sovereign, and prosperous Cuba, the situation on the island has reached an “alarming stage,” adding that “humanitarian aid should never be used as a bargaining chip.”

As reported in 14ymedio of Cuba, the collective, which is known for its pro-U.S. dialogue advocacy, has warned that blackouts and fuel shortages have “severely limited the responsiveness” of all types of organizations, “both religious and humanitarian, as well as private companies and individuals.” In their view, the Cuban regime is responsible for the crisis, but they underscore that the White House-imposed sanctions and oil blockade have left the Cuban population in an extremely precarious state.

The group has also emphasized that its latest recommendations are not meant to replace their prior position on the need for dialogue between the two countries, but it now believes that action is needed so that “sanctions and bureaucratic obstacles no longer obstruct the necessary aid from reaching the Cuban people.”

Its recommendations include the issuance of an explicit humanitarian exemption shielding third countries from sanctions for providing fuel and liquefied gas to Cuba, easing restrictions on donations of medical and pharmaceutical items from the United States, relaxing international banking restrictions affecting the island, and publicly recognizing the private sector as the provider of food, transportation, and logistics in Cuba. It has also stressed that the Cuban government needs to remove its own ideological and administrative hurdles to allow aid to arrive on its shores.