Cuban officials have criticized an escalating series of U.S. statements and threats of military action against the Caribbean island, calling them dangerous and an international crime, along with the ongoing oil blockade, which has greatly restricted fuel shipments amid a devastating energy crisis
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez characterized the US as ‘insinuating military action’ to ‘liberate’ Cuba, saying this was hypocritical and cynical in a social media post on Tuesday night, in which he cited decades of US sanctions against the island’s government as the root cause of its economic and social problems.
‘The threat of a military attack and the aggression itself are international crimes,’ said Rodríguez.
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Tuesday that the status quo in Cuba was unacceptable, adding that the US would resolve the issue, although he did not provide a timeline.
Rubio’s remarks were accompanied Tuesday by a social media post showing the chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Havana, Mike Hammer, walking alongside Rubio and Gen. Frank Donovan of U.S. Southern Command, who oversees U.S. operations in the Caribbean region.
Another photo posted Tuesday by the U.S. militaryshowed Rubio shaking hands with Donovan while standing in front of a map of Cuba.
The Trump administration has significantly increased pressure on Cuba this year, halting oil shipments from Venezuela—long Cuba’s main supplier—and threatening to impose sanctions on any country that supplies oil to Cuba.
US President Donald Trump said he would allow a single Russian oil tanker to deliver fuel to the island for ‘humanitarian reasons’, although this would only represent a fraction of the island’s needs for four months.
Havana plunged back into a routine of regular hour-long blackouts this week as Russian oil became scarce, leaving many residents anxious ahead of a long, hot Caribbean summer.
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Trump appeared at a private event on Saturday, joking that the US could station an aircraft carrier off Cuba to force the island’s surrender.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel called the comments “a dangerous and unprecedented escalation.”
‘No aggressor, no matter how strong, will be met with surrender in Cuba,’ he said.
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