Cuba condemns new US sanctions as 'illegal' and 'abusive'
Havana sharply condemned a new round of US sanctions tightening the Trump administration's oil blockade. Cuban foreign ministry officials said the curbs would deepen the country's fuel and food shortages and choke its emerging private sector.
Cuba's foreign ministry denounced Washington's latest round of oil and finance sanctions as 'illegal, abusive and a violation of international law.' The statement said the measures specifically target tankers carrying fuel to Cuba and the intermediary firms that arrange the trade.
The Trump administration's tightened blockade in its second term has deepened gasoline queues, blackouts and food shortages on the island. The small private businesses authorized last year are already contracting as broken import chains squeeze inventories and credit lines.
International reaction has been split. Left-leaning Latin American governments have backed Havana, while the European Union has voiced concern over the humanitarian impact. The Cuban government said it would again push the UN General Assembly to vote against the embargo, a non-binding but symbolically powerful resolution.
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