This country was already struggling. A US oil blockade has made life there even worse

Watch Dateline’s latest episode, Cuba: Inside the Blockade, on 6 October at 9.30pm AEST on SBS or SBS On Demand. The hand-rolled cigar hardly leaves Alberto’s lips the entire time I’m with the farmer, but he takes it out to make his point: “This is a very difficult crisis,” he says. “I’m 65 years old. I’ve lived here for a long time, and I’ve never seen a crisis worse than the one we’re facing now. Never.” Tobacco might be one of Cuba’s most famous and important exports, but even the Cuban cigar is feeling the heat of the United States…