Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has criticised the United States’ oil embargo and expanded sanctions, describing Washington’s policy as “political genocide” during a speech marking the 73rd anniversary of the 1953 attack that launched Cuba’s revolution.
The address comes as US-Cuba relations remain strained under the Trump administration. Díaz-Canel rejected recent US allegations that Cuba had infiltrated the US government and supported left-wing terrorism, arguing the claims were intended to shift attention from domestic social and economic challenges in the United States.
“By accusing Cuba, they are not only looking for a scapegoat, an external agent. They are looking for someone to blame for the protests of the sectors hardest hit by an economy that makes the rich richer and the poor poorer,” said Diaz-Canel.
“They are looking for a new excuse to sustain their political genocide against Cuba.”
He renewed calls for an end to US sanctions and the oil embargo, stating that Cuba’s economic difficulties had been exacerbated by the measures.
“Let Cuba live in peace, and also let the noblest of the American people, who have historically fought for the human rights of other peoples, without expecting recognition and often facing persecution, imprisonment, and risks to their lives, live in peace,” he said.
The country continues to experience fuel shortages, rolling blackouts and wider economic disruption, while Washington maintains that Cuba’s economic problems stem primarily from domestic mismanagement and insufficient investment.
ℹ️ Reuters
Follow on social media TikTok@tut0ughInstagram@tut0ugh Threads@tut0ugh X@tut0ugh YouTube@tut0ugh
