Geneva (AFP) – Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez assured on Monday in Geneva that the "aggressive escalation" of the United States against the island seeks to cause "a humanitarian catastrophe" in the country.
First modification: 02/23/2026 - 14:15
In recent weeks, US President Donald Trump has tightened the embargo against Cuba – in force since 1962 – and has pressured other countries, including Venezuela, to stop sending it oil.
Also weakened by the end of oil supplies from Caracas, Cuba faces significant fuel shortages and electricity outages.
The United States "now imposes an energy blockade and intends to create a humanitarian catastrophe using as a pretext the absurd assertion that Cuba constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to its national security," the foreign minister said before the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
The chancellor denounced "criminal and illegal actions that constitute a ruthless collective punishment of the Cuban people."
At the end of January, a US decree signed by Trump described the island as an "extraordinary threat" to the United States.
"Cuba does not threaten the United States or any other country," insisted the head of Cuban diplomacy, and assured that his country does not apply "policies with open purposes of domination, nor is it the country that deploys military forces and violates the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other states."
"Remaining impassive in the face of these attempts to impose global tyranny puts all states without exception at risk," he said.
Bruno Rodríguez also spoke before the UN Human Rights Council, in session this Monday in Gienbra, and assured that "we will prevent a humanitarian crisis in Cuba, even if it costs us dearly in hardship and suffering,"
Last week, the US president called Cuba a "failed country" and urged the country to reach an agreement, while rejecting the idea of an operation to overthrow the regime.
© 2026 AFP
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