The blockade doesn\u2019t punish a government; it punishes the daily lives of an entire people. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodr\u00edguez Parrilla denounced before the national and international press the impact of the economic, commercial, and financial embargo on access to fuel, water, medicine, healthcare, and transportation, and emphasized that \u201cit doesn\u2019t punish a government; it punishes the daily lives of a people in every aspect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States government against Cuba constitutes an act of \u201ccollective punishment\u201d that directly impacts the daily lives of Cuban families, stated Bruno Rodr\u00edguez Parrilla, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and Minister of Foreign Affairs, during the presentation of Cuba\u2019s Report on the Blockade to the national and international press accredited in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Minister of Foreign Affairs explained that the report, which the Republic of Cuba traditionally presents to the Secretary-General of the United Nations at the latter\u2019s request, \u201cprovides rigorous information on the economic, commercial, and financial damage caused by the United States government\u2019s blockade against Cuba.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, he stressed that this time the emphasis is on \u201cthe tremendous impact on people, on Cuban families, ultimately, on our entire population,\u201d because \u201cthe blockade doesn\u2019t punish a government; it punishes the daily life of a people in every aspect. It is an act of collective punishment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This impact, he pointed out, is expressed in \u201cthe long months spent living with only two or three hours of electricity a day, or less, with food spoiling, the heat that makes it impossible to sleep, parents fanning their babies, children doing their homework in near darkness, young people without internet access or recreation, grandparents without television or sometimes even radio\u2014all family life disrupted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bruno Rodr\u00edguez also denounced the impact of the measures targeting fuel supplies. He recalled that the U.S. President\u2019s executive order of January 29th \u201cdecreed a fuel embargo that prevents supplies, even those already paid for, under the threat of sanctions,\u201d while also \u201cintimidating and harassing the companies that own the ships and tankers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt threatens shipping companies and prohibits them from transporting even parts and components for thermoelectric plants or photovoltaic systems,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In that regard, he explained that \u201ca 100,000-ton crude oil tanker would drastically reduce blackouts for approximately two weeks,\u201d while importing fuel oil and diesel for the generators of so-called distributed generation would allow for \u201cminimal blackouts.\u201d However, \u201cthe fuel embargo prevents imports.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cuba, he specified, \u201chas rapidly transformed its energy matrix with solar power,\u201d but pressures have also increased in this area. \u201cNow shipping companies are being threatened not to bring solar panels or batteries for the new photovoltaic parks that we have learned to install in just 45 days,\u201d he denounced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The energy blockade, he added, has consequences that go beyond the interruption of electrical service. \u201cThe punishment manifests itself in weeks without water supply,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He explained that the water supply sources operate using sets of electric motors that shut down during blackouts and that, even after a brief interruption, \u201cit takes several hours to recover water pressure in the pipes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The same situation, he noted, affects \u201cpumping plants, booster pumps, and the pumps in the pipelines.\u201d Although these systems are protected by generators, \u201cthese also run on fuel oil or diesel, which we are not allowed to import.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe blockade deprives us of resources; it also prevents us from importing parts and components for these generators,\u201d he denounced. Nevertheless, he affirmed that \u201cwe are working diligently to mobilize generators capable of operating and to secure photovoltaic energy for the water supply.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The blockade doesn\u2019t punish a government; it punishes the daily lives of an entire people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A BLACKOUT CAN DEFINE A LIFE<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The consequences take on a particularly dramatic dimension in the public health system. \u201cThe power outage punishes newborn babies who depend on the stable functioning of medical equipment, such as an incubator, for their survival,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When a blackout occurs and the hospital\u2019s generator fails, \u201cdoctors have to save them with manual techniques,\u201d as is the case when providing assisted ventilation. A similar situation is faced by those awaiting surgery, including children, due to the difficulties in ensuring the operation of the generators that power the operating rooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Minister of Foreign Affairs noted that \u201cthere have been dramatic incidents in which some major surgeries have had to be completed using rechargeable lamps or, in some cases, the light from medical personnel\u2019s cell phones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople awaiting surgery know that this service is limited precisely because of the lack of electricity, which is especially true due to the lack of fuel,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite these limitations, he emphasized that \u201ca great effort has been made, with encouraging results, to protect hospitals, polyclinics, and other health centers with photovoltaic systems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The blockade, the Foreign Minister added, \u201cpunishes those who have a sick person at home and difficulties transporting them to the hospital, or a family member who requires hemodialysis,\u201d and who are aware of \u201cthe fuel limitations affecting ambulance services and others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDespite everything, ambulances have been acquired, a minimum fuel supply for them is guaranteed, and transportation for hemodialysis is ensured,\u201d he specified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The complaint also addressed the difficulties in guaranteeing essential medications. \u201cParents and relatives are suffering as they anxiously search for essential medications that may be in one of the more than 7,000 containers that U.S. government threats against shipping companies are preventing from reaching the island, or that are produced in Cuba but whose raw materials or supplies are in another container,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Referring to infant mortality indicators, Bruno Rodr\u00edguez pointed out that the data shows \u201can increase in infant mortality from four per 1,000 live births in 2018 to 9.9 in 2025.\u201d He emphasized: \u201cThey are children, not numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese are deaths that should not have occurred because Cuba and its robust and effective public health system were deprived of legitimate resources,\u201d he stated, while reminding everyone that this is the system responsible for \u201ccaring for pregnant women, treating sick children, and attending to anyone arriving in a medical emergency.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHealthcare needs resources, and patients need timely treatments, which the energy blockade and measures against shipping companies prevent from reaching Cuba,\u201d he maintained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The cruelty of the blockade, he concluded in this segment of his remarks, is also evident \u201cin the thousands upon thousands of Cuban men and women who struggle daily to get to work without public transportation because the vehicle fleet is practically paralyzed due to a lack of fuel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The damages caused by the blockade, during March 2025 and February 2026, increased by 7% compared to the previous year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Cuban foreign minister reported that the damages caused by the blockade during the period from March 2025 to February 2026 reached $8,083,000,000, representing a 7% increase over the record registered the previous year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also stated that the accumulated damages over decades of the blockade amount to $178,700,000,000 at current prices, 4.7% higher than previously reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The report estimates that, without the blockade, Cuba\u2019s Gross Domestic Product at current prices would have grown significantly in 2025, reflecting lost opportunities for productive revitalization, exports, and social development due to the effects of this collective punishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bruno Rodr\u00edguez pointed out that, despite the extreme intensification of the blockade with the executive order of May 1st, which causes suffering and anguish to Cuban families due to the decline in real income and the increased cost of living, Cuba has managed to begin the school year with guarantees and assurances under conditions of universality, equity, and quality\u2014\u201dunmatched by Latin American countries or even the United States itself in low-income communities\u201d\u2014ensuring the essential annual funding for the special education of children and young people with disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He emphasized that the fuel blockade and threats against shipping companies cause blackouts, prevent water supplies, and affect all services to the population. The hostility and aggression reach all aspects of life, and these are not collateral damage, but rather the victims of an aggressive design and a coldly calculated plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He noted that US President Donald Trump declared on January 8, 2026, \u201cresponding to a question about the policy against Cuba, \u2018I don\u2019t think much more pressure can be exerted except to go in and wreck the place.’\u201d Similarly, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who consistently lied by saying the fuel blockade didn\u2019t exist, declared on August 7: \u201cThere are no escape valves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The foreign minister pointed out that every time a new mechanism is created to try to break free from the blockade, it is simply blocked, and he described this sentiment as the same destructive spirit behind the genocide being committed in Gaza, \u201calthough in Cuba it is silent, without bombs, but it also kills.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cWhat country under these conditions could maintain peace, social consensus, stability, citizen participation in finding solutions to difficulties, and public safety? Cuba will never be defeated.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Today, the most pressing needs of the population are being addressed with great effort. Social policies are being maintained and improved as a top priority, ensuring that no one is left behind. We will move forward quickly and decisively in implementing the economic and social changes recently approved by the National Assembly of People\u2019s Power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The blockade doesn\u2019t punish a government; it punishes the daily lives of an entire people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCUBA IS NOT A THREAT. THE BLOCKADE IS.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rodr\u00edguez Parrilla also denounced the rhetoric and actions of U.S. political sectors that promote confrontation with Cuba and advocate for aggression against the island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTerrible statements are made daily not only by government officials, but also by rabidly anti-Cuban members of Congress, by extremely conservative neo-fascist figures in U.S. politics, and by the henchmen and thieves who profited during the Fulgencio Batista dictatorship,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also referred to those who \u201cthink that the solution for Cuba is U.S. tutelage\u201d and to those who intend to hand the country over \u201cto the worst forces in Miami who have always thrived in the anti-Cuban industry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is the politicians who call for violence, who condone terrorist acts, who incite the destabilization of Cuba, and who constantly urge the President of the United States to launch a direct military attack against our people,\u201d he denounced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the Foreign Minister, \u201cclosing off all economic outlets for a country means suffocating the entire population and attempting, in that endeavor, to induce a humanitarian crisis through collective punishment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In response, he asserted: \u201cThere will be no humanitarian crisis in Cuba because our people are deeply compassionate, understand and are highly aware of the causes, the problems, and the suffering we face, mobilize collectively in close unity, and are the driving force behind the changes we are introducing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These changes, he explained, seek to address \u201cproblems of the past and the extremely difficult current situation\u201d through \u201can updating and reform of our economic and social model, oriented toward social justice, equal opportunities, and the dignity of all Cubans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rodr\u00edguezalso rejected the arguments used to justify U.S. policy toward Cuba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cIt is not an attack on a government with which our northern neighbor has political differences. It is in no way an act of legitimate self-defense by the world\u2019s leading nuclear, technological, and economic military power.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Nor, he affirmed, \u201cdoes it protect any national interest, nor that of U.S. citizens or businesspeople,\u201d nor does it \u201crepresent or respond to the will, feelings, or interests of the taxpayers and voters of this country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Washington\u2019s policy, he added, also does not respond \u201cto the feelings and interests of the vast majority of Cubans residing abroad, particularly those residing in the United States, nor to their descendants who want the best for their families, for their nation, for their homeland.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The foreign minister also rejected the accusation that Cuba constitutes a threat to the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCuba is not a threat. The blockade is. Cuba is in no way a threat. We are a country of peace; we want and deserve peace,\u201d he emphasized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cAlong with the overwhelming majority opinion of the international community, I reiterate now, and we will reiterate at the United Nations: end the blockade. Let us live in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
THE ALLEGED HUMANITARIAN AID: \u201cTHEY LIE CONSTANTLY\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked by the press about the $100 million in alleged humanitarian aid announced by the United States government, Rodr\u00edguez Parrilla stated categorically: \u201cYes, they lie constantly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He explained that \u201cthe offer of the supposed $100 million in humanitarian aid to Cuba was unusually made public at the Holy See when it wasn\u2019t even known to Cuban churches or our government.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He recalled that, after the Cuban government \u201chad accepted and provided humanitarian aid worth three million dollars\u201d in response to the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa, an offer of an additional nine million dollars had been made. However, \u201csome obscure arithmetic at the State Department reduced this figure to six million dollars,\u201d an offer that was accepted by international religious institutions, churches in Cuba, and the Cuban government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOf the nine million that were initially allocated and later reduced to six million, just over one million has been disbursed,\u201d he reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regarding the $100 million announced later, he specified that \u201ca shipment of food and hygiene products for 700 Cuban families has been delivered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, he again challenged the United States government, \u201cparticularly the State Department,\u201d to report \u201cwhen this humanitarian aid will begin, whether it will include medicine and food, which is a true priority for our people, and why it is taking so many months to be implemented.\u201d \u201cWhen will it start, and above all, when will it end?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The island\u2019s foreign minister reiterated that \u201cCuba always accepts all humanitarian aid offered from any corner of the world\u201d when it is carried out in accordance with international practices and the cooperation norms recognized by the United Nations, \u201cwhich always completely exclude any conditions or political manipulation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo one should profit politically from need or suffering,\u201d he stated, while also emphasizing that \u201cany formula that undermines national sovereignty\u201d is excluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He further reported that the Cuban government maintains \u201cclose contact with Cuban churches\u201d that will participate in the distribution of this aid and will provide them with \u201cfull support to ensure it is swift and effective.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TALKS SHOW NO ADVANCE OR PROGRESS<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regarding the talks between Cuba and the United States, the island\u2019s foreign minister confirmed that \u201cthere have been talks with the State Department\u201d and that \u201ccommunications are ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, he specified that \u201cthese talks show no advance or progress due to the lack of willingness on the part of the United States government.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cuba, he affirmed, \u201creiterates its willingness to continue these talks on the basis of international law, without preconditions, in sovereign equality, on an absolutely equal footing, based on mutual respect and reciprocal benefit for our peoples, without interference in our internal affairs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere have been, and are, no negotiations, agreements or roadmaps,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATIONS ARE A SOVEREIGN RIGHT OF CUBA<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There has been no official statement from the United States government regarding the economic and social changes recently decided by the National Assembly of People\u2019s Power, reported Bruno Rodr\u00edguez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere have been no such statements, and the truth is, there is no need for them because they pertain to the exercise of the sovereign powers of the Republic of Cuba, which reside undeniably and solely in the Cuban people.\u201d he affirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the island\u2019s foreign minister noted that Cuba constantly receives \u201csignals and inquiries from broad sectors of American society, from individuals, from Cubans residing in that country, from businesspeople and companies, from people of goodwill,\u201d and from \u201cmembers of the United States Congress, politicians from various states,\u201d all interested in learning about the opportunities that these transformations open up for expanding trade, cooperation, and investment ties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAbove all, they contrast the scope of these transformations with the tightening of the energy embargo and the persecution of shipping companies that transport supplies to Cuba,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In that context, he said, they ask \u201chow they could do it under those circumstances\u201d and show particular interest in knowing the contents of the more than 7,000 containers that remain affected by the pressure tactics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe find it striking that they consistently ask what\u2019s in those more than 7,000 containers, whether those containers have already been paid for, whether they correspond to contractual relationships, to contracts signed with international shipping companies, and which entities in Cuba have contracted for those shipments,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cuba\u2019s top diplomat emphasized that these interlocutors \u201care astonished\u201d when they learn that \u201cmost of those shipments have been contracted by small and medium-sized Cuban private companies\u201d and that \u201cthe bulk of those shipments are food, medicine, and medical devices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He clarified that these are \u201cshipments previously contracted and paid for according to universally accepted rules of international trade.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bruno Rodr\u00edguez described the energy blockade policy as \u201cinappropriate in a peacetime situation,\u201d considering it \u201can act of war that affects freedom of trade and freedom of navigation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
THE DAMAGES FROM THE ENERGY BLOCKADE ARE NOT YET INCLUDED<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Referring to the calculation of losses caused by the blockade, the Cuban foreign minister explained that the figure presented to the press \u201cis a rigorous calculation based on a methodology that adheres to international standards.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He recalled that this methodology \u201cwas audited several years ago by a commission of the United States Congress, which declared it compliant with international accounting practices and methodologically rigorous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He clarified that the figure presented \u201cdoes not include the damages from the energy blockade, nor does it include the damages from secondary sanctions,\u201d whose effects, in the case of the January 29th order, \u201cbegan to be felt the following week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, he announced that \u201cwe will try to finalize this year\u2019s statistics as soon as possible,\u201d maintaining the methodology established by the Cuban entities that regulate economic statistics and the methodology derived from the United Nations General Assembly resolution requesting the Secretary-General to report on its implementation. \u201cWe have not wanted to alter that methodology,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Bruno Rodriguez added that \u201cthe damage in these months far exceeds the damage that occurred in the preceding period.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CUBA PREPARES TO DEFEND ITS INDEPENDENCE<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked about the recent executive orders from Washington that label Cuba a threat to national security and about the possibility of direct military action, the Foreign Minister was categorical: \u201cThey are lying. They are constantly lying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his opinion, this policy of aggression and blockade \u201cis generating so much international isolation and discredit for the United States government.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But he warned that Cuba takes the threats seriously because \u201cthey are not only based on rhetoric,\u201d but also on \u201cthe testimonies of numerous serious sources, analysts, and U.S. non-governmental organizations that present evidence that the United States government is making real military preparations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen one hears the President, the Secretary of State, and very recently the Secretary of Defense, saying that direct military aggression against Cuba is among the options on the table for the President of the United States, of course one has to take those threats seriously,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Faced with this scenario, \u201cour people, our State, take them very seriously and are preparing to defend our independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity with unwavering determination.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bruno Rodr\u00edguez expressed, however, his hope that these threats \u201cwill never materialize,\u201d as they \u201cwould provoke a true bloodbath,\u201d with the loss of Cuban lives and also of \u201cyoung Americans who would be sent to a war they do not want, a war that is not theirs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This potential aggression, he maintained, \u201cdoes not serve the slightest national interest, nor the interests of the citizens or the people of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe will defend our independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity with the same determination as in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The report is available here: Informe de Cuba marzo 2025- febrero 2026`<\/p>\n\n\n\n
[ SOURCE: GRANMA ]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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