Cuban foreign minister accuses US of ‘cruel and ruthless aggression’ against island’s people

Cuba’s foreign minister has accused Washington of waging a “cruel and ruthless aggression” against the island’s people, after the United States announced another round of sanctions targeting Cuban figures, institutions and energy companies.

Bruno Rodríguez said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spent two consecutive days “lying about Cuba again,” calling it a habit he had not abandoned. The Cuban minister said Washington was trying to justify an attack that had no political or moral excuse.

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The collective punishment is a crime, and so is causing suffering to an entire population with measures coldly calculated to induce a humanitarian crisis.

“The collective punishment is a crime,” Rodríguez wrote. He also condemned what he described as deliberately calculated measures designed to cause suffering across the population and induce a humanitarian crisis. “Enough abuse. End the blockade and allow Cuba to live in peace, through its own efforts and with the united support of its noble and brave people,” he demanded.

The latest US designations affect Fidel Ernesto Castro Calis, the grandson of former Cuban President Raúl Castro, the state-owned Banco Exterior de Cuba and several energy companies. Rubio said the measures reflected President Donald Trump’s “unshakable vision of a free Cuba.”

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Enough abuse. End the blockade and allow Cuba to live in peace, through its own efforts and with the united support of its noble and brave people.

Washington has imposed sanctions in recent months on Cuban state entities and officials, including President Miguel Díaz-Canel, members of the Castro family, Revolutionary Armed Forces Minister Álvaro López Miera and deputy ministers. A May 1 executive order threatens sanctions against people and entities that provide financial, material or technological support to the Cuban government or operate in key sectors such as energy, defense, finance and mining.

The order also bars foreign nationals from entering the United States if they have maintained ties with Cuban government entities, or if they are involved in human rights violations or corruption. The measures have arrived in batches roughly every two weeks, beginning with the armed forces’ business conglomerate Gaesa and its president, Ania Guillermina Lastres. Cuba has faced a deep energy crisis since mid-2024, which has worsened since January.

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The unshakable vision of President Trump of a free Cuba.