Cuba has been reeling, with the island nation of 11 million staggering under the yoke of major fuel shortages that have trammelled nearly every aspect of life.The fomenting humanitarian crisis is a direct result of a new, aggressive approach by the administration of United States President Donald Trump in the wake of the US military abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Trump has gone far beyond Washington’s decades-long embargo on the island, threatening crippling tariffs on any country that provides fuel shipments, and, in turn, stifling lifeline supplies from Venezuela and Mexico.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listBut as the impact of US policy on the lives of Cubans just 90 miles (145 km) away from the US state of Florida comes into increasing focus, the same clarity has not emerged on what the Trump administration actually hopes to achieve in its strategy, analysts have told Al Jazeera.That comes as Trump has sent a contradicting message: He has both told reporters he seeks to “work a deal” with the communist government led by Miguel Diaz-Canel and, alternately, plans to make Cuba “free again”, hinting at the regime change long sought by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.“One possibility is that they actually do come to some kind of a deal,” William LeoGrande, a professor focusing on US foreign policy in Latin America at American University, told Al Jazeera. “But the $64,000 question is, what would be the terms of such a deal be?”“The second possibility, of course, is that this oil embargo causes social collapse on the isl …
