Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez accused the United States of attempting to provoke a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Cuba through an oil blockade, which he labeled as an “aggressive escalation.” The blockade was initiated by US President Donald Trump following the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, cutting off essential oil supplies to Cuba and issuing threats of sanctions against countries supplying oil to Havana.
Addressing the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Rodriguez condemned the United States for imposing an energy blockade with the alleged justification that Cuba poses an unusual and extraordinary threat to US national security. Despite facing prolonged power outages and shortages of essential resources, Cuba, under a trade embargo since 1962, has been grappling with challenges exacerbated by the loss of its primary oil source last month.
Rodriguez criticized the US actions as “criminal and illegal,” resulting in severe consequences for the Cuban population. He refuted Trump’s characterization of Cuba as a threat to US national security, emphasizing that Cuba does not pose a danger to any country. Rodriguez highlighted that it is not Cuba but the US that employs national security strategies akin to the Monroe Doctrine, aiming for dominance and interfering in the sovereignty of other nations.
Trump’s comparison of the operation to remove Maduro to the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, which asserted US control over Latin America, was also referenced in the statement.
