Merve Gül Aydoğan Ağlarcı
18 July 2026•Update: 18 July 2026
Cuba’s president on Friday denounced the latest US sanctions on his country, accusing Washington of reviving a "new and more dangerous version of McCarthyism" through a campaign against what he called a global "radical left."
On US social media platform X, Miguel Diaz-Canel claimed that transnational far-right alliances are being promoted in ways that "recall Hitlerite fascism" and the Cold War-era Operation Condor of the 1970s and ‘80s.
He described the current political climate as a new form of McCarthyism, referring to the 1950s anti-communist campaigns in the US, targeting alleged communist sympathizers.
He questioned whether allegations against the left are being used as a pretext to justify "new abuses and greater aggression."
The Cuban leader argued that the "real danger for humanity" is the "philosophy of dispossession" guiding the actions of the transnational far right.
Diaz-Canel also blamed the US and its allies for the genocide in Gaza, extrajudicial killings, the persecution and killing of migrants, the bombing of a girls' school in Iran, and the decades-long US embargo on Cuba.
"The list is endless," he said, adding that the far right's actions pose a threat to global peace.
Cuba is currently grappling with its worst economic crisis in decades, including severe fuel shortages and repeated power failures.
Official media reported that the economy contracted sharply in the first half of 2026, while average daily power outages have reached 20 hours, and the electricity deficit climbed to 1,955 megawatts.
Authorities have blamed much of the deterioration on tighter US measures, saying Washington has disrupted oil supplies, pressured companies doing business with Cuba, and restricted the island's access to international credit and financing.
The White House on May 1 said President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing new sanctions on Cuban officials and entities, citing repression and threats to US national security and foreign policy.
In January, Trump signed an executive order declaring a national emergency and establishing a mechanism to impose tariffs on goods from countries that sell or supply oil to Cuba, according to the White House.
