Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel rejected a threat from United States President Donald Trump, saying the United States had no moral right to impose an agreement on Cuba, Reuters reports.
"Cuba is a free, independent and sovereign country. Nobody dictates to us what to do. Cuba is not attacking; Cuba has been attacked by the US for 66 years and is not threatening – it is preparing, ready to defend its homeland to the last drop of blood," Diaz-Canel stated on the X network.
Trump said earlier on Monday that Cuba would no longer receive Venezuelan oil or money and suggested the communist-ruled island should reach a deal with Washington, ratcheting up pressure on the longtime US adversary and provoking a defiant response from the Cuban leadership.
The agency states that Venezuela is Cuba's largest supplier of oil, but that maritime traffic data shows that since the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by US forces in early January, at the height of a strict US oil embargo against that OPEC member, not a single tanker has sailed from Venezuelan ports to the Caribbean country.
At the same time, Caracas and Washington are advancing negotiations on a $2 billion deal that would deliver up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil to the United States, with the proceeds deposited in accounts overseen by the U.S. Treasury, presenting a major test of the nascent relationship between Trump and Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez.
"THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY FOR CUBA – ZERO! I strongly recommend they make a deal, BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE," Trump wrote today on his Truth Social platform.
"Cuba has lived off large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela for years," Trump added.
The US president did not clarify what kind of agreement Cuba should reach.
Still, Trump's pressure on Cuba represents the latest escalation of his policy of bringing regional powers into line with US interests and underscores the seriousness of the administration's ambition to dominate the Western Hemisphere, according to Reuters.
Trump's top officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have made no secret of their expectation that the recent US intervention in Venezuela could push Cuba "over the edge."
US officials have stepped up their rhetoric toward Cuba in recent weeks, even though the two countries have been at odds since Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution.
Cuba defends the right to import
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said today, in a post on the X network, that Cuba has the right to import fuel from any supplier willing to export it. He also denied that Cuba received financial or other "material" compensation in return for security services provided to any country.
A total of 32 members of the Cuban armed forces and intelligence services were killed in a US raid in Venezuela. Cuba said the dead were in charge of "security and defense," but gave no details about the arrangement between the two longtime allies.
Cuba relies on imports of crude oil and fuel, mainly provided by Venezuela and, to a lesser extent, Mexico, purchased on the open market to keep power plants and vehicles running.
As refinery operating capacity has declined in recent years, shipments of Venezuelan crude and fuel to Cuba have dwindled. Still, the South American country remains the largest supplier, with about 26.500 barrels per day exported last year, according to ship tracking data and internal documents from state-owned company PDVSA, covering about 50 percent of Cuba's oil deficit.
Even before Maduro, Cuba struggled to secure a stable electricity supply. Large parts of the island remain without power for most of the day, and even the capital, Havana, has suffered serious economic consequences from rotating, hours-long blackouts.
Shortages of food, fuel, and medicine have pushed the population to the brink of exhaustion and prompted a record wave of emigration, primarily to the United States, in the last five years.
Mexico becomes a key supplier
Mexico has emerged in recent weeks as a key alternative oil supplier to the island, but shipment volumes remain small, according to maritime traffic data.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said last week that her country had not increased its shipments, but that, given recent political developments in Venezuela, Mexico had become an "important supplier" of crude oil to Cuba.
US intelligence agencies have painted a bleak picture of the economic and political situation in Cuba, but their assessments do not provide clear support for Trump's claim that the island is "ready to fall", Reuters reported on Saturday, citing three sources familiar with the confidential assessments.
According to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), key sectors of the Cuban economy, such as agriculture and tourism, are severely strained by frequent power outages, trade sanctions and other problems. The potential loss of oil imports and other support from Venezuela could further complicate President Díaz-Canel's management of the country.
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