Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez accused the United States on Tuesday of attempting to incite a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Cuba through an oil blockade that he labeled as an “aggressive escalation.” President Donald Trump halted crucial supplies of Venezuelan oil to Cuba following the removal of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and has issued warnings of sanctions against nations selling oil to Havana.
Speaking at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Rodriguez stated that the U.S. has initiated an energy blockade with the aim of creating a humanitarian crisis, citing the unfounded claim that Cuba poses an extraordinary threat to U.S. national security. Despite facing prolonged power outages and scarcities of essential resources like fuel, medication, and food for years due to the enduring U.S. trade embargo since 1962, Cuba’s challenges worsened following the loss of its primary oil source last month.
Rodriguez condemned these actions as criminal and unlawful, emphasizing that they unfairly punish the Cuban population. Disputing Trump’s assertion that Cuba poses a significant threat to U.S. security, Rodriguez emphasized that Cuba does not endanger the U.S. or any other nation. He highlighted that it is not Cuba but the U.S. that employs national security strategies akin to the Monroe Doctrine, which aims at domination and interference in other countries’ sovereignty.
Trump likened the operation to remove Maduro to an updated version of the Monroe Doctrine, a 1823 policy by President James Monroe asserting U.S. dominance in Latin America.