Published 02/24/2026 08:35
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla stated this Monday (23), in Geneva, that Donald Trump’s government is deliberately trying to cause a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Cuba by intensifying the energy siege against the island, during a speech at the UN Human Rights Council.
According to him, the executive order signed at the end of January by the US government “declares collective punishment against the Cuban people” by threatening countries that supply oil to the island with tariffs and, in doing so, “seeks to create a humanitarian catastrophe through an energy blockade”.
“The executive order of January 29 by the president of the United States declares collective punishment against the Cuban people and aims to create a humanitarian catastrophe through an energy blockade,” he said.
Rodríguez acknowledged that the imposed scenario will have social costs, but said the country intends to avoid a collapse.
“We will avoid a humanitarian crisis in Cuba, even if we go through deprivation and suffering,” he said. “Even in the worst-case scenario, we will persist, find creative solutions to all difficulties and mitigate humanitarian damage.”
The chancellor also stated that Cuba produces “almost half of the crude oil it consumes”, has refining capacity and has been making “significant and efficient investments in solar energy”, in addition to drawing on experience accumulated over decades.
“With suffering, three generations of Cubans overcame the United States blockade for more than sixty years,” he said.
Despite the tone of denunciation, Rodríguez stated that Havana does not rule out a diplomatic route.
According to him, Cuba would be willing to dialogue with Washington “based on sovereign equality and international law, mutual respect and reciprocal benefit”, as long as there are “no preconditions or interference in internal affairs”, with the aim of “achieving a civilized relationship despite our differences”.
At the same event in Geneva, the chancellor also placed the complaint against the United States in a broader context of international instability, marked, according to him, by global military escalation and the use of tariffs as an instrument of political pressure. In this scenario, he stated, “all nation-states are at risk.”
Source: vermelho.org.br
