Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel has denounced an attempt by United States President Donald Trump to ‘suffocate’ the sanctions-hit country’s economy.
Trump signed an executive order last Thursday threatening additional tariffs on countries that sell oil to Cuba, the latest move in Washington’s campaign of pressure on Havana.
The order alleged that the government of Cuba was an ‘unusual and extraordinary threat’ to US national security.
In a social media post on Friday, Diaz-Canel said that under ‘a false and baseless pretext’ Trump plans ‘to suffocate’ Cuba’s economy by slapping tariffs ‘on countries that sovereignly trade oil’ with it.
‘This new measure reveals the fascist, criminal and genocidal nature of a clique that has hijacked the interests of the American people for purely personal ends,’ he said, in an apparent allusion to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Cuban American and a known anti-Cuban government hawk.
Cuba, which is suffering rolling electricity blackouts blamed on fuel shortages, was cut off from critical supplies of Venezuelan oil after the US abducted Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in a bloody military night raid on the capital, Caracas, last month.
At least 32 members of Cuba’s armed forces and intelligence agencies were killed in the January 3rd attack.
The US has since taken effective control of Venezuela’s oil sector, and Trump, a Republican, has issued threats against other left-wing governments in the region, threatening to stop oil shipments previously sent to Cuba.
On Friday, Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez declared an ‘international emergency’ in response to Trump’s move, which he said constitutes ‘an unusual and extraordinary threat’.
Venezuela’s government also condemned the measure in a statement on Friday, saying it violates international law and the principles of global commerce.
In a post on social media, Trump suggested Rubio could become the president of Cuba. ‘Sounds good to me!’ he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
In Havana, residents expressed anger at Trump’s tariff threat, which will only make life harder for Cubans already struggling with an increase in US sanctions.
Meanwhile, Russia has ‘resolutely’ condemned the ‘US illegitimate prohibitive measures against Cuba and Washington’s pressure on the Cuban leadership and people,’ Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday.
‘The US White House published an executive order on January 29, declaring an emergency over Cuba, its policy and government.
‘Russia’s position on this score remains unchanged: unilateral measures of sanctions, pressure on sovereign independent states taken in circumvention of the United Nations and the provisions of its Charter and other norms of international law are absolutely unacceptable.
‘We resolutely denounce illegitimate prohibitive steps against Havana, the pressure on the Cuban leadership and citizens of that country. We are convinced that despite the obstacles created from outside on the way of its development, Cuba will continue maintaining effective foreign economic ties,’ she said.
As the Russian diplomat pointed out, ‘this is yet another and quite radical recurrence, the strategy of maximum pressure on the Island of Freedom repeatedly used by Washington, which is aimed at economically stifling it.
‘What captures attention is that the new anti-Cuban document classifies Russia, along with some other equitable foreign partners of Havana, as a “hostile” and “malign’ state”,’ she said.
‘Assigning labels does not contribute either to stabilising the Russia-US dialogue or raising the efficiency of Washington’s important mediatory efforts for settling crises in various regions of the world,’ Zakharova emphasised.
The Russian side ‘cannot accept the attempts to create obstacles to international cooperation, all the more so with the country that is confronted with a complex social and economic situation largely caused by the US trade-economic and financial blockade that has lasted nearly 70 years,’ she pointed out.
Russia and Cuba have ‘special historical ties’ – the traditions of our cooperation that is comprehensive have deep roots and enjoy broad public and political support in both countries,’ the diplomat added.
‘Also, as we have stressed repeatedly, this cooperation is not directed against third countries and cannot be considered as detrimental to any interests. We firmly intend to consistently develop it for the benefit of the peoples of our countries and for the benefit of strengthening international security and stability,’ the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.
- US intelligence reports indicate that Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, is resisting Washington’s push to realign the country’s foreign partnerships.
The assessments have raised doubts about whether Rodríguez will fully comply with Washington’s demands to sever ties with Iran, China, and Russia.
Venezuela, home to some of the world’s largest proven oil reserves, has become central to Washington’s pressure campaign to curb the influence of rival powers in the Western Hemisphere.
Trump has repeatedly demanded that Caracas expel diplomats and advisers from allied countries.
Representatives from all the three countries attended Rodríguez’s swearing-in last month, following the US raid on the country that kidnapped President Nicolás Maduro on January 3rd.
In mid-January, US President Trump claimed he’d held a ‘long call’ with Rodríguez, describing her as ‘a terrific person’.
He later said the two discussed ‘many topics’, including oil, minerals, trade and national security, and claimed they had made ‘tremendous progress’.
Rodríguez, who has said she is working to unify the country after the US abduction of Maduro, has since signalled resistance to Washington’s pressure.
Nearly a month into her interim role, she said Venezuela has had ‘enough’ of US interference.
‘Enough already of Washington’s orders over politicians in Venezuela,’ she told oil workers in the city of Puerto La Cruz last week.
‘This republic has paid a very high price for confronting the consequences of fascism and extremism in our country,’ she added.
Speaking last Friday, Rodriguez announced a decision to hold a general amnesty for political prisoners.
‘I want to announce a decision to promote a general amnesty law that will cover the entire period of political violence from 1999 to the present,’ she announced at the opening ceremony of the 2026 judicial year at the Supreme Court of Venezuela broadcast by the Venezolana de Televisi·n television channel.
She instructed the commission on judicial reform and the programme of democratic coexistence and peace to submit the general amnesty law to the National Assembly (parliament) soon.
She appealed to the lawmakers to ‘maximise cooperation so that the law helps heal the wounds caused by political confrontation, violence and extremism, and restore justice in the country.’
Rodriguez noted that the general amnesty law had already been discussed with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
She urged ‘not to resort to revenge and violence, and treat each other with respect.’
Rodriguez said that the Helicoide prison, a long-standing symbol of alleged government repression, will instead be converted into a centre for sports and social services for the families of police officers and residents of the surrounding area.
