FM Rodriguez defends his country’s right to import fuel.

On Tuesday, Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez accused the United States of intimidating those seeking to trade with his country and defended the Caribbean nation’s right to import fuels.

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“The oil blockade imposed by the U.S. government against our country internationalizes the blockade… It shows this is not a bilateral issue. It intimidates, pressures and extorts those who trade sovereignly with Cuba,” he said.

Rodriguez also described as “contradictory” statements made by U.S. President Donald Trump, who said he believes his administration can focus on Cuba once it resolves the war against Iran, when asked about the recent decision to allow some tankers to reach the island.

“They seek to create confusion in order to continue preventing the entry of fuels into our territory,” the Cuban foreign minister said.

Rodriguez also defended Cuba’s “full right” to trade fuel with any nation, without “conditions contrary to the freedom of international trade.”

“Every country has the right to export fuel to Cuba and to develop trade relations, without interference from an external power,” he stressed.

After allowing the Russian vessel Anatoly Kolodkin to deliver 100,000 tons of crude oil to Cuba in late March, the Trump administration announced it would review each oil shipment “on a case-by-case basis.”

Following the arrival of that vessel, Moscow announced the dispatch of another tanker to the island. Recent data indicate that the oil tanker could be the Russian vessel Universal, which is currently sailing in the North Atlantic toward the Caribbean, about 15 days from Cuba.

“Based on its profile, there is a high probability that its destination is Cuba,” said Cuban expert Jorge Piñon, a researcher at the University of Texas Energy Institute.

The oil tanker Universal, which has been sanctioned by the United States and the European Union, belongs to the Russian shipping company Sovcomflot, like the Kolodkin vessel.

Since 2024, Cuba has been experiencing a severe energy crisis, worsened by the oil blockade imposed by Washington since January.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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