Cuba rejects US no-oil-blockade claim

HAVANA - Cuba on Tuesday rejected remarks by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that there is no oil blockade against the island.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez accused Rubio of lying, saying the statement contradicted an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump on Jan 29 that threatens tariffs on countries trading oil with Cuba.

"In four months, only one fuel ship has arrived in Cuba. All our suppliers are intimidated and threatened in violation of free trade rules and freedom of navigation," Rodriguez said.

He added that Rubio "knows very well the damage caused to the Cuban people" by what he called the oil siege.

Cuba also criticized another executive order signed Friday by Trump, which imposes secondary sanctions on the energy sector, including measures against foreign banks linked to the Cuban government and migration restrictions.

The order allows Washington to block people or entities operating in key Cuban sectors, including energy, mining, defense and security, or those providing material, financial or technological support to the Cuban government or sanctioned individuals.

The Cuban government has called the measures illegal.

The United States has maintained sanctions against Cuba for over 60 years, with a comprehensive trade embargo officially instituted in February 1962. The sanctions have since remained in place, and at times tightened or slightly eased.