Could the US oil blockade snuff out the Cuban cigar?
Since January, the Trump administration has blocked foreign oil to Cuba. Will the island’s cigars survive the crisis?
![A Havana local smokes a cigar on the Malecón - the city’s waterfront area. Both domestically and abroad, Cuban cigars are becoming an increasingly rare luxury. [Euan Wallace/ Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/DSC02741-1775944580.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
Since January, the Trump administration has blocked foreign oil to Cuba. Will the island’s cigars survive the crisis?
![A Havana local smokes a cigar on the Malecón - the city’s waterfront area. Both domestically and abroad, Cuban cigars are becoming an increasingly rare luxury. [Euan Wallace/ Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/DSC02741-1775944580.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)


![Al Jazeera’s Marah Rayan breaks down why the US blockade on the Strait of Hormuz is deepening an energy crisis that is driving up costs for everyone. [Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/image-1776197399.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)






US and Iranian delegations are set to meet in Islamabad for peace talks to end six weeks of war.
The case is to overturn the temporary tariffs that Trump imposed after the Supreme Court struck down his earlier ones.
Washington and Tehran accuse each other of not honouring truce agreement.
Tehran’s plans to tax ships passing through the strait and raise money to rebuild is already seeing pushback.
It’s not clear under what legal authority Trump can tack on this tariff, and analysts called it an ’empty threat’.
The Italian leader’s cosy alliance with Trump may have become more of a liability than an asset as key elections near.
As US president’s deadline looms, a ceasefire appears unlikely.
If the chokepoint were shut, along with the Strait of Hormuz, a quarter of the world’s energy supply would be blocked.

It’s been 10 years since the Panama Papers leak exposed how the world’s richest hide their wealth.

Fuel shocks from the US-Israel war on Iran are rippling worldwide, as Strait of Hormuz disruptions push prices higher.