Cuba condemns new US sanctions as ‘economic aggression'

Cuba on Thursday strongly condemned new sanctions and restrictions imposed by the US, accusing Washington of escalating its economic blockade against the island to “extreme and unprecedented levels.”

The government rejected an executive order signed by the White House on May 1 that tightens economic, financial, and commercial restrictions against Cuba, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It also criticized a decision announced Thursday by the US Treasury Department, adding the Cuban entities Gaesa and MoaNickel SA to the US sanctions list of Specially Designated Nationals.

The ministry described the move as “the first coercive measure” stemming from the executive order.

"This is a ruthless act of economic aggression that amplifies the extraterritorial effects of the blockade, with the potential application of secondary sanctions against foreign companies, banks, and entities, even if their business in the United States has no connection to Cuba," it said.

According to the statement, the new measures threaten to deepen Cuba’s economic crisis, which has already worsened because of restrictions on fuel imports imposed earlier this year.

Cuba also accused senior US officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, of trying to isolate the country internationally.

The statement described the US embargo as a “genocide against the Cuban people” and claimed the latest measures are intended to provoke economic collapse, social unrest, and a humanitarian crisis.

"We denounce the criminal nature of these aggressive measures aimed at rendering the Cuban population hungry and desperate and attempting to generate a social, economic, and political catastrophe on a national scale," the ministry said.

Cuba further alleged that Washington could seek to use a humanitarian crisis as justification for “more dangerous actions, including military aggression against 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."