Cuba says Rubio lying about oil blockade

HAVANA, Cuba: Cuba on Tuesday accused US Secretary of State Marco Rubio of lying when he denied that the United States was carrying out an oil blockade on Cuba.

Cuba has been suffering from an energy crisis since January, when US forces seized Venezuela president and Cuban ally Nicolas Maduro and Washington threatened tariffs on countries that send crude to the communist-led island.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez wrote on X that Rubio “has simply chosen to lie,” and that he “contradicts the President and the White House Spokesperson.”

Rodriguez was responding to comments made by Rubio at the White House hours before.

“There’s no oil blockade on Cuba, per se,” Rubio said while guest-hosting the daily White House press briefing.

“Here’s what’s happening with Cuba, okay? Cuba used to get free oil from Venezuela, used to give them a bunch of free oil,” Rubio said. “They would take, like, 60 percent of that oil and resell it for cash. It wouldn’t even go to benefit the people.”

Rubio added: “So the only blockade that’s happened is the Cubans have decided, I mean, the Venezuelans have decided we’re not giving you free oil anymore.”

Rodriguez also denounced additional sanctions against Cuba’s energy sector announced by Donald Trump on May 1.

“The Secretary knows full well the harm and suffering he is causing the Cuban people today,” he added.

So far, Washington has only allowed the arrival, at the end of March, of a Russian oil tanker. According to Trump, it was a one-off shipment.