Cuba rejects US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s claim that US does not block oil shipments

HAVANA: Cuba has rejected remarks by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Washington does not block oil shipments to the island, citing an American measure that imposes penalties on countries supplying oil to Cuba.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez wrote on the social media platform X on Friday (local time) that Rubio had repeatedly claimed the US government does not block oil shipments to Cuba, reports Xinhua news agency

Rodriguez pointed to Executive Order 14380, signed by US President Donald Trump on January 29, which authorises punitive tariffs on imports from countries that directly or indirectly supply oil to Cuba.

According to Rodriguez, any country that trades oil with Cuba faces the threat of commercial retaliation in the US market.

“Is that not blocking the entry of oil into Cuba?” Rodriguez wrote, describing the measure as a form of economic coercion against third countries.

He was responding to remarks Rubio made Tuesday before a US Senate committee, where the secretary of state defended the White House’s position on Cuba’s energy crisis.

Cuba relies heavily on imported fuel to meet domestic demand. According to official figures, the island requires about eight fuel shipments a month to operate normally.

So far this year, Cuba has received only one crude oil shipment — the Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin, carrying about 100,000 tonnes of oil.  (IANS)

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