Cuba Denounces U.S. Energy Blockade

(MENAFN) Cuba formally condemned Washington's sweeping energy blockade on Wednesday, warning that fuel shortages are now freezing millions of dollars in humanitarian aid and crippling international relief efforts across the island.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez took to social media platform X to deliver the rebuke, stating: "It not only restricts the performance of the Cuban economy. It puts the brakes on the work of international agencies and organizations, evidencing its extraterritorial nature."

Citing UN figures, Rodriguez revealed that $6.3 million worth of essential goods delivered to Cuba across 170 containers "are not reaching the beneficiaries due to fuel shortages" — a stark illustration of how the blockade is strangling last-mile aid delivery.

Rodriguez further characterized Washington's energy policy as a form of deliberate harm against ordinary Cubans, describing it as part of the "collective punishment" that the U.S. government is inflicting on average citizens.

The warning follows reporting by both international and local outlets in early June indicating that the UN World Food Programme and allied bodies — including the UN Development Programme — were struggling to distribute aid on the ground due to acute fuel scarcity.

The United States has maintained an economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba for over six decades. In January, Washington intensified the pressure further by imposing fresh sanctions targeting countries that supply fuel to the island.

The consequences have been severe. Cuba, which is heavily dependent on oil imports, has received only approximately 100,000 tons of crude oil this year — delivered by a single Russian vessel, the Anatoly Kolodkin.

By contrast, official Cuban sources indicate the nation requires the equivalent of roughly eight fuel shipments per month simply to sustain normal operations — a threshold it is nowhere near meeting.

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