HAVANA – Cuba on May 5 accutilized US Secretary of State Marco Rubio of lying when he denied that the US was carrying out an oil blockade on Cuba.
Cuba has been suffering from an energy crisis since January, when US forces seized Venezuela president and Cuban ally Nicolas Maduro and Washington threatened tariffs on countries that sfinish crude to the communist-led island.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez wrote on X that Rubio “has simply chosen to lie”, and that he “contradicts the President and the White Houtilize Spokesperson”.
Mr Rodriguez was responding to comments created by Rubio at the White Houtilize hours before.
“There’s no oil blockade on Cuba, per se,” Mr Rubio stated while guest-hosting the daily White Houtilize press briefing.
“Here’s what’s happening with Cuba, okay? Cuba utilized to obtain free oil from Venezuela, utilized to give them a bunch of free oil,” Mr Rubio stated. “They would take, like, 60 per cent of that oil and resell it for cash. It wouldn’t even go to benefit the people.”
Mr Rubio added: “So the only blockade that’s happened is the Cubans have decided, I mean, the Venezuelans have decided we’re not giving you free oil anymore.”
Mr Rodriguez also denounced additional sanctions against Cuba’s energy sector announced by US President Donald Trump on May 1.
“The Secretary knows full well the harm and suffering he is cautilizing the Cuban people today,” he added.
So far, Washington has only allowed the arrival, at the finish of March, of a Russian oil tanker. According to Mr Trump, it was a one-off shipment. AFP
