Cuba’s foreign minister on Tuesday accused the United States of carrying out an “energy siege” on Cuba and urged the United Nations to take action against the “ruthless” US sanctions on the island country.
Addressing the UN General Assembly during a debate on the US embargo, Bruno Raodriguez Parilla said that for decades the US has been carrying out "a multidimensional nonconventional warfare" against Cuba that has grown "ever more cruel and more ruthless."
"There is now an energy siege, which is equivalent to a naval blockade, which is an act of war," he said, alleging that Cuba's fuel imports are being obstructed through "direct threats, unilateral coercive actions, and even harassment or intimidation of oil tankers."
Parilla accused Washington of using secondary sanctions and other measures to deepen Cuba's economic woes, saying they were intended to "provoke in Cuba a humanitarian crisis and the complete destabilization of the country."
He said the sanctions had worsened shortages of fuel, medicines, and food, leading to prolonged blackouts and deteriorating living conditions. "The blockade asphyxiates and kills silently," he said, urging the UN to address what he called "this ruthless crime."
Parilla said damages caused by the embargo between March 1, 2025, and Feb. 28, 2026 totaled a record $8 billion, up 7% from the previous year, and estimated cumulative losses since the embargo began at $178.7 billion.
He rejected US arguments that Cuba poses a security threat, saying, "Cuba is not a threat. Cuba is the nation that is under threat," while reaffirming Cuba's commitment to "peace, international law, multilateralism, truth and justice."
His remarks came shortly after US Ambassador Mike Waltz objected to holding a second General Assembly debate, calling it a misuse of UN resources, adding that the cost of the meeting “could feed 3,500 Cuban children for a month” or provide other humanitarian assistance.
Waltz said Cuba sought to use the debate to shift blame for the country's problems onto Washington, saying: “Colleagues, that is the real Cuban embargo. It is not the one Havana pretends exists. It is the embargo the regime imposes on its own people.”
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