{"id":969,"date":"2026-01-31T20:12:35","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T13:12:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/?p=969"},"modified":"2026-01-31T20:12:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T13:12:35","slug":"cuba-president-diaz-canel-criticises-trumps-efforts-to-strangle-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/?p=969","title":{"rendered":"Cuba President D\u00edaz-Canel Criticises Trump\u2019s Efforts to Strangle Economy","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

Cuba President Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a> has condemned what he described as a renewed attempt by the United States to strangle Cuba\u2019s already struggling economy, following new measures announced by Donald Trump<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Trump signed an executive order on Thursday threatening additional tariffs on countries that export oil to Cuba, intensifying Washington\u2019s pressure campaign against Havana. The order labels Cuba\u2019s communist-led government an \u201cunusual and extraordinary threat\u201d to US national security.<\/p>\n

Havana Rejects Tariff Threats<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In a social media post on Friday, D\u00edaz-Canel said the move was based on what he called a \u201cfalse and baseless pretext,\u201d accusing Trump of seeking to suffocate Cuba\u2019s economy by penalising nations that engage in sovereign oil trade with the island.<\/p>\n

He described the policy as reflecting \u201ca fascist, criminal and genocidal mindset,\u201d appearing to single out US Secretary of State Marco Rubio<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, a long-time critic of the Cuban government.<\/p>\n

Energy Crisis Deepens<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Cuba has been experiencing widespread power outages, which authorities attribute to severe fuel shortages. The situation worsened after the US carried out a military operation earlier this month that resulted in the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/span><\/span><\/strong> and his wife from Caracas, an event that also disrupted Venezuela\u2019s oil exports to Cuba.<\/p>\n

Cuban officials say at least 32 members of the country\u2019s armed forces and intelligence services were killed during the January 3 operation. Since then, Washington has taken effective control of Venezuela\u2019s oil sector and warned other left-wing governments in the region against continuing energy shipments to Cuba.<\/p>\n

\"Cuba<\/p>\n

International Reaction Grows<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Cuba\u2019s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodr\u00edguez<\/span><\/span><\/strong> declared an \u201cinternational emergency\u201d on Friday, arguing that the new US measures amount to an extraordinary threat to the country\u2019s survival.<\/p>\n

Venezuela\u2019s government also condemned the decision, saying it violates international law and basic principles governing global trade.<\/p>\n

Reporting from Havana, Al Jazeera correspondent Ed Augustin said Trump\u2019s announcement represents a severe psychological and economic shock, with analysts describing it as the harshest economic action Washington has taken against Cuba to date.<\/p>\n

Trump Signals Further Pressure<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Days after Maduro was transferred to the United States, Trump urged Cuba to strike a deal \u201cbefore it is too late,\u201d without specifying the terms. He later suggested on social media that Rubio could one day become Cuba\u2019s president, adding, \u201cSounds good to me!\u201d<\/p>\n

Public Anger in Havana<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In Cuba\u2019s capital, residents voiced frustration and fear over the impact of tighter sanctions.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy food is spoiling. We\u2019ve had no electricity since early morning,\u201d Havana resident Yenia Leon told Al Jazeera. \u201cYou can\u2019t sleep, and you\u2019re forced to buy food daily. There\u2019s no solution to the power crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

L\u00e1zaro Alfonso, an 89-year-old retired graphic designer, compared the situation to a state of war, telling the Associated Press that the current hardships are worse than the \u201cSpecial Period\u201d of the 1990s following the collapse of Soviet support.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only thing missing is bombs falling,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mexico Seeks Alternatives<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum<\/span><\/span><\/strong> said she would explore alternative ways to assist Cuba after the US announcement, warning that cutting off oil supplies could trigger a humanitarian crisis affecting hospitals, transportation and food access.<\/p>\n

Mexico, along with Russia, became a major fuel supplier to Cuba after US sanctions disrupted Venezuelan oil shipments. Sheinbaum said Cuba accounts for about 1 percent of Mexico\u2019s oil production and added that her foreign minister has been instructed to seek clarification from the US State Department.<\/p>\n

According to figures cited by the Financial Times, Mexico supplied 44 percent of Cuba\u2019s oil imports and Venezuela 33 percent until last month, while Russia accounted for about 10 percent.<\/p>\n

Calls to End Sanctions<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In November, a senior United Nations expert urged the United States to lift its long-standing sanctions on Cuba, warning that they are harming every aspect of daily life.<\/p>\n

Alena Douhan<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, the UN special rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures, said the US embargo \u2014 first imposed in 1962 following Fidel Castro<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u2019s rise to power \u2014 represents the longest-running sanctions regime in modern history.<\/p>\n

She cited shortages of food, medicine, electricity and clean water, along with an accelerating exodus of skilled workers, as evidence of the sanctions\u2019 \u201csevere consequences\u201d for fundamental human rights.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cuba President Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel has condemned what he described as a renewed attempt by the United States to strangle Cuba\u2019s already struggling economy, following new measures announced by Donald Trump. Trump signed an executive order on Thursday threatening additional tariffs on countries that export oil to Cuba, intensifying Washington\u2019s pressure campaign against Havana. The order […]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":1,"featured_media":971,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=969"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":972,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969\/revisions\/972"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}