Cuba has condemned an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump that threatens to impose tariffs on countries selling oil to the island, describing the move as a “brutal act of aggression.”
In a statement posted on social media, Cuba’s Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez, said the decision amounted to an escalation of decades-long economic pressure on the country.
“We denounce to the world this brutal act of aggression against Cuba and its people, who for more than 65 years have endured the longest and cruelest economic blockade ever imposed on a nation,” Rodríguez said. He warned that the new measure would further worsen living conditions for Cubans.
The reaction followed Trump’s signing of an executive order authorising additional tariffs on countries that supply oil to Cuba, a move aimed at tightening economic pressure on the communist-led state.
The order does not specify the scale of the tariffs or identify the countries that may be affected, leaving such decisions to the US Secretary of Commerce.
Cuba has been under a US trade embargo since 1962 and has, in recent years, relied heavily on oil supplies from Venezuela. However, Washington has sought to disrupt that flow after removing President Nicolás Maduro from power and taking effective control of Venezuelan oil exports.
Havana views the latest US action as part of a broader strategy to isolate the country economically and politically.
