Cuba says US sanctions are 'collective punishment' during May 1 marches

Cuba said Friday that US President Donald Trump’s fresh sanctions on the island amounted to “collective punishment,” as an enormous May 1 procession outside the American embassy in Havana vowed to “defend the homeland.”

Trump has mused about taking over Cuba, which lies 145 kilometers (90 miles) from Florida and has been under a nearly continuous US trade embargo since Fidel Castro led a communist revolution in 1959.

Late Friday, he told an audience in Florida that the US would be “taking over” the Caribbean island “almost immediately.”

In an executive order on Friday, the US leader said he would impose sanctions on people involved in sweeping sections of the Cuban economy, which is steered by the government.

The latest sanctions constitute “collective punishment” of the nation’s people, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said.

“We firmly reject the recent unilateral coercive measures adopted by the #UnitedStates government,” he posted on X in English. “These actions demonstrate an intention to impose, once again, collective punishment on the Cuban people.”

In a Spanish-language statement, he called the sanctions “illegal” and “abusive.”

Trump’s order said the measures target people known to “operate in or have operated in the energy, defense and related materiel, metals and mining, financial services, or security sector of the Cuban economy, or any other sector of the Cuban economy”, as well as Cuban officials judged to have engaged in “serious human rights abuses” or corruption.

Already in the throes of economic stagnation, the situation worsened for Cuba following a fuel blockade imposed by Washington in January, with only one Russian oil tanker making it through since then.

Supply shortages and power cuts have become the norm, and tourism — once Cuba’s most lucrative industry — has plummeted.

The sanctions come despite moves toward dialogue between the two countries, with senior US officials visiting the island for talks in April.

Friday’s fresh measures took effect during May 1 celebrations, which saw huge crowds in Havana march to the US embassy under the slogan “Defend the Homeland.” The march was led by Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and former revolutionary leader Raul Castro.

The day before, Diaz-Canel had called on Cubans to mobilize “against the genocidal blockade and the crude imperial threats to our country,” referring to US actions and rhetoric.

During the rally, authorities claimed to have collected more than six million signatures from Cubans “for the homeland and for peace” over the past six weeks.

Opponents, however, have questioned the method by which the signatures were collected.

State television showed thousands more people assembling in other Cuban cities.