Cuba’s Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, has condemned a new wave of sanctions imposed by the United States, describing them as “illegal and abusive.”
An executive order signed on Friday by U.S. President Donald Trump targets officials in Cuba’s energy, defense, finance, and security sectors, as well as individuals accused of “human rights abuses” or corruption.
Trump has continued to harden U.S. foreign policy toward Cuba, signaling an intention to push for changes in the island’s communist leadership.
He stated that the United States would “take over” Cuba, located about 145 kilometers from Florida, “almost immediately.”
“On the way back from Iran, we will have one of our large aircraft carriers—possibly the USS Abraham Lincoln, the largest in the world—come and stop just offshore, and they will say: ‘Thank you very much. We surrender,’” Trump said.
In a post on X, Rodríguez argued that these “unilateral coercive measures” violate the United Nations Charter and amount to “collective punishment against the Cuban people.”
Trump’s latest efforts to pressure the Cuban economy come despite Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel confirming in March that Havana had been negotiating with Washington over bilateral relations.
“The blockade and its reinforcement cause so much harm due to the intimidating and arrogant behavior of the world’s most powerful military force,” Díaz-Canel wrote on X following the announcement.
A U.S. oil blockade on Cuba has led to fuel shortages and widespread power outages, affecting hospital services, public transport, and education. Since the blockade was imposed, only one Russian oil tanker has reached the island.
