The US blockade of Cuba has created a wartime-scale economic crisis, leaving Havana facing an unpalatable decision.

Cuba’s economy was already struggling thanks to its leadership’s mismanagement before the loss of cheap Venezuelan oil and Washington’s energy embargo.

The US is “bullying” its small neighbor, the Financial Times said, with “the modern-day equivalent of a siege,” but its demands — a liberalized economy with a greater role for the private sector and increased foreign investment — are “actually in Havana’s interests” if Cuba is to have any chance of reviving living standards.

The blockade is exacerbating homegrown economic problems: Business is stifled by bureaucracy, and Cuba’s traditional allies are unwilling or unable to help.