The US deepens its blockade against Cuba: State oil company Cupet added to sanctions list
After the US threatened customs duties on countries supplying oil to Cuba, the island's state oil company was also included in the sanctions list. The Cuban government described these US actions as a threat to its sovereignty. The Cuban government responded to the US sanctions decision targeting Cuba's state oil company Cupet.
Cuba's Foreign Minister Rodriguez stated that the US is further intensifying the energy blockade due to internal political calculations. According to reports in the national press cited by AA, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said the US has "deepened the economic and energy blockade against Cuba."
Addressing the sanctions against Cupet, which is involved in crude oil extraction, refining, and production, Rodriguez said, "US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, driven by conquest ambitions, presidential aspirations, and political career calculations, is worsening the economic and energy blockade against Cuba with a vengeful attitude."
Cuba's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment Oscar Perez-Oliva also reacted to the US sanctions decision. Perez-Oliva stated, "Instead of the justifications prepared by the US State Department to legitimize this step, they resort to the ordinary and crude lies spread by the most aggressive, ignorant, and angry anti-Cuba groups."
Cuba's state oil company Cupet was included in the sanctions list of the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). This increased the number of Cuban institutions and officials under sanctions, including Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, commenting on the issue, claimed, "Like all resources on the island, energy has long been used by Cuba's communist government both as a tool of repression and to sustain the regime's predatory governance."
On January 30, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing customs duties on all goods from countries that sell or supply oil to Cuba. The White House claimed this decision aims to protect US national security and foreign policy interests against Cuba's "harmful actions and policies."
In statements regarding Cuba, Trump said they would engage with the Havana government after Iran, describing Cuba as a "failed state" and asserting that only the US can resolve the country's political and economic problems.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel warned that the US is seeking a pretext for military intervention in his country, cautioning that such a scenario would turn the region into a "bloodbath." In response to Trump's threat "Their turn will come," Cuba stated there is no justification whatsoever for an attack.
