April 20, 2026
[article from Science, with an introduction and endnote by World Outlook]

Nothing illustrates the criminality, hypocrisy, and brutality of Washington’s economic war against Cuba better than its impact on the island’s universal healthcare system and highly advanced biotech sector. And the consequences can be felt far beyond Cuba’s shores in countries around the globe.

When the Cuban Revolution overthrew the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959 and broke the grip of the capitalist class on the island, one of the first priorities was to take some of the country’s wealth that previously went into the purses of the dictator and his cronies and turn it toward extending healthcare to the masses of people.

The Cubans were so successful in training doctors, establishing a system based on preventive care, and building infrastructure to serve the island’s population that they were able to extend selfless medical aid around the world. Cuba became known worldwide not just for its achievements in protecting the health and extending the lives of its own people, but for saving lives in dozens of countries.

That progress is now threatened, along with the lives of the Cuban people and of others internationally who rely on life-altering treatments and medicines from the island...