Cuba accuses US of 'economic warfare,' warns against military action

Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez on Tuesday accused the US of escalating pressure on the island nation through economic measures.

“The (US) government insists in hinting at a military action against (Cuba) because 'the country is devastated ... and it would be an honor to liberate it,” Rodriguez said on US social media company X.

"The cynical and hypocritical thing about it is that the US has, for decades, tried to devastate the country by imposing an economic warfare; and that government has been doing so with greater zeal during the last two months through the adoption of two genocidal Executive Orders," he said.

Rodriguez said that both the economic restrictions and any potential military action would violate international law, describing them as “international crimes.”

"Both the economic blockade and energy siege as well as the new extraterritorial coercive measures; the threat of a military attack and the aggression itself are international crimes," he added.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday denied that Washington is imposing an oil blockade on Cuba, despite US threats to impose tariffs on any nation that sells oil to the island nation.

"There's no oil blockade on Cuba, per se," Rubio said at a news briefing.

'In four months, only one fuel tanker has arrived in Cuba'

Cuba is facing a fuel crisis following a US oil embargo imposed on Jan. 30, alongside widespread power outages.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that Cuba is "next" after the military operation against Iran and that the Caribbean island will fail "soon."

In a separate post, Rodriguez rejected Rubio's claim that there is no oil blockade against Cuba.

"He has simply chosen to lie. He contradicts the President and the White House Spokesperson," he said.

Rodriguez pointed to a Jan. 29 executive order signed by Trump that he said threatens tariffs on countries exporting fuel to Cuba, arguing the measure has deterred suppliers and sharply reduced fuel shipments to the island.

"In four months, only one fuel tanker has arrived in Cuba. All our suppliers are intimidated and threatened in violation of free trade rules and freedom of navigation," he said.

The minister also cited a May 1 executive order establishing secondary sanctions in the energy sector, further tightening restrictions on fuel access.

"The Secretary knows very well the damage and suffering that the criminal oil siege he himself proposed to his President is causing the Cuban people today," Rodriguez said.