Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla denounced the double standards in US policy this Monday and questioned the contradictions between Washington’s official discourse and the actions that restrict economic and trade relations between the two countries.
Through his account on the social network X, the head of Cuban diplomacy condemned the US government for proclaiming its defense of “free enterprise and freedom” of investment, while politicians in states like Florida, “under unfounded pretexts,” obstruct, restrict, and threaten US and Cuban businesspeople who maintain commercial ties with public and private entities on the island, even when these relationships have licenses issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the US Treasury Department.
Rodríguez placed Washington’s responsibility for the deterioration of bilateral relations at the center of the debate and pointed out that it is the US authorities themselves who obstruct and sever ties between the two countries by maintaining a retrograde and punitive policy based on a prolonged economic war that directly punishes the Cuban people.
In that regard, he asked: “Who is blocking and closing ties between our two countries? Who is maintaining a retrograde and criminal policy and waging an economic war against the Cuban people?”
Although Washington often blames Havana for its supposed unwillingness to engage in dialogue, the Cuban government has reiterated that it remains open to talks based on mutual respect, recognition of sovereignty, and the elimination of obstacles that impede constructive relations between the two countries.
The unilateral coercive measures imposed on Cuba by the U.S., which have lasted for more than six decades, not only affect the island’s economy but also hinder Cuba’s relations with other nations and international companies, which are pressured to align themselves with U.S. policies or face sanctions.
In the Caribbean and Latin America, the U.S. also exerts political and economic pressure that contravenes the self-determination of the region’s countries, as exemplified by the U.S. military intervention in Venezuela, which culminated in the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, revealing a hostile policy disguised as national security.
