President Diaz-Canel slams Trump’s bid to ‘suffocate’ Cuba’s economy

Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel has denounced what helium called an effort by his United States counterpart, Donald Trump, to “suffocate” the sanctions-hit country’s economy.

Trump signed an enforcement bid connected Thursday threatening further tariffs connected countries that merchantability lipid to Cuba, the latest determination successful Washington’s run of unit connected Havana. The bid alleged that the authorities of communist-run Cuba was an “unusual and bonzer threat” to US nationalist security.

In a societal media station connected Friday, Diaz-Canel said that under “a mendacious and baseless pretext”, Trump plans “to suffocate” Cuba’s system by slapping tariffs “on countries that sovereignly commercialized oil” with it.

“This caller measurement reveals the fascist, transgression and genocidal quality of a clique that has hijacked the interests of the American radical for purely idiosyncratic ends,” helium said, successful an evident allusion to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Cuban American and a known anti-Cuban authorities hawk.

Cuba, which is suffering rolling energy blackouts blamed connected substance shortages, was chopped disconnected from captious supplies of Venezuelan lipid aft the US abducted Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and his woman successful a bloody subject nighttime raid connected the capital, Caracas, earlier this month. At slightest 32 members of Cuba’s equipped forces and quality agencies were killed successful the January 3 attack.

The US has since taken effectual power of Venezuela’s lipid sector, and Trump, a Republican, has issued threats against different left-wing governments successful the region, promising to halt lipid shipments antecedently sent to Cuba.

Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez connected Friday declared an “international emergency” successful effect to Trump’s move, which helium said constitutes “an antithetic and bonzer threat”.

Venezuela’s authorities besides condemned the measurement successful a connection connected Friday, saying it violates planetary instrumentality and the principles of planetary commerce.

Reporting from Cuba’s capital, Al Jazeera’s Ed Augustin said Trump’s announcement “is a monolithic intelligence blow”, noting that analysts picture it arsenic the “most almighty economical stroke the United States has ever dealt the island”.

Days aft Maduro’s abduction and transportation to the US, Trump urged Cuba to marque a woody “before it is excessively late,” without specifying what benignant of statement helium was referring to.

In a station connected societal media, Trump suggested Rubio could go the president of Cuba. “Sounds bully to me!” helium wrote connected his Truth Social platform.

‘There’s nary solution’

In Havana, residents expressed choler astatine Trump’s tariff threat, which volition lone marque beingness harder for Cubans already struggling with an summation successful US sanctions.

“My nutrient is going bad. We haven’t had energy since 6am,” Yenia Leon told Al Jazeera. “You can’t sleep. You person to bargain nutrient each day. There’s nary solution to the powerfulness situation,” she said.

“This is simply a war,” Lazaro Alfonso, an 89-year-old retired graphic designer, told The Associated Press quality agency, describing Trump arsenic the “sheriff of the world” and saying helium feels similar helium is surviving successful the Wild West, wherever thing goes.

A antheral sells vegetables connected the thoroughfare during a blackout successful Havana connected January 22 [Norlys Perez/Reuters]

Alfonso, who lived done the terrible economical slump successful the 1990s known arsenic the “Special Period” pursuing cuts successful Soviet aid, said the existent concern successful Cuba is worse, fixed the terrible blackouts, a deficiency of basal goods and a scarcity of fuel.

“The lone happening that’s missing present successful Cuba … is for bombs to commencement falling,” helium said.

Meanwhile, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she would question alternatives to proceed helping Cuba aft Trump’s announcement pursuing a determination this week to temporarily halt lipid shipments to the land amid heightened rhetoric from Trump.

Mexico became a cardinal supplier of substance to Cuba, on with Russia, aft the US sanctions connected Venezuela paralysed the transportation of crude lipid to the island.

Sheinbaum said cutting disconnected lipid shipments to Cuba could trigger a “far-reaching humanitarian crisis” connected the island, affecting transportation, hospitals and entree to food. She did not accidental whether Mexico would chopped shipments of lipid oregon refined products to Cuba, which ‌she said accounted for 1 percent of Mexico’s production.

“Our involvement is that the Cuban radical don’t suffer,” Sheinbaum said, adding that she had instructed her overseas curate to interaction the US ‌State Department to amended recognize the scope of the enforcement order.

Mexico supplied 44 percent of Cuban lipid imports and Venezuela exported 33 percent until past month, portion immoderate 10 percent of Cuban lipid is sourced from Russia. Some lipid is besides sourced from Algeria, according to The Financial Times figures.

In November past year, a elder United Nations adept said the long-running US sanctions connected Cuba indispensable beryllium lifted arsenic they are “causing important effects crossed each aspects of life”.

The US imposed a near-total commercialized embargo connected Cuba successful 1962, with the extremity of toppling the authorities enactment successful spot by Fidel Castro aft helium took powerfulness successful a 1959 revolution. Castro himself was the people of galore assassination attempts by the US’s Central Intelligence Agency, oregon CIA.

Alena Douhan, peculiar rapporteur connected the antagonistic interaction of unilateral coercive measures connected quality rights, said the “extensive authorities of economic, commercialized and fiscal restrictions” against Cuba marks the longest-running unilateral sanctions argumentation successful US history.

She noted that determination are shortages of food, medicine, electricity, water, indispensable machinery and spare parts successful Cuba, portion a increasing emigration of skilled workers, including aesculapian staff, engineers and teachers, is further straining the country.

The accumulative effect has “severe consequences for the enjoyment of quality rights, including the rights to life, food, wellness and development”, Douhan said.