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The Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Fernández de Cossío, stated this Monday that the executive order signed by Donald Trump on May 1 against the Cuban regime "clears up any doubts about the domination objectives that truly motivate years of aggression."
In a post on X, De Cossío also stated that the measure confirms "the undeniable truth regarding the destructive effect of the blockade on the Cuban economy and society," using the term that the regime uses to refer to the U.S. embargo.
The executive order, titled "Imposition of Sanctions on Those Responsible for Repression in Cuba," expands the sanctions program against the Cuban government and blocks all assets and interests within U.S. territory of regime officials, state entities, and those who provide them with material, financial, or technological support.
The measure targets strategic sectors of the Cuban economy: energy, defense, mining, financial services, and security, and imposes secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions that facilitate transactions with the designated entities.
The reaction of the deputy minister adds to a series of official responses from the regime in light of the escalating pressure from Washington.
The president Miguel Díaz-Canel described the measures as a "brutal genocidal blockade" and accused the U.S. of "moral poverty," while the foreign minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla asserted that "Cubans do not let ourselves be intimidated".
Trump, for his part, stated that the U.S. “will take Cuba almost immediately” and depicted a scenario with the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier 100 yards off the Cuban coast, remarks that the regime categorically rejected.
The Cuban ambassador to the UN, Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, stated on Fox News that words like "surrender" or "capitulate" are not in the Cuban dictionary, in what was yet another defiant message from the nomenclature.
The narrative of "domination" put forth by De Cossío contrasts with the justification from Washington: a White House official warned Reuters that "Cuba provides a permissive environment for hostile foreign intelligence, military, and terrorist operations less than 100 miles from U.S. territory."
Since January 2025, the Trump administration has imposed over 240 sanctions against the regime and intercepted at least seven oil tankers, which has reduced the island's energy imports by between 80% and 90%.
The impact on the Cuban population is devastating: power outages of up to 25 hours a day affect more than 55% of the territory, and the Intelligence Unit of The Economist projects an economic contraction of 7.2% for 2026, a direct consequence of 67 years of communist dictatorship exacerbated by the collapse of the energy supply.
On March 30, Trump had already warned that "Cuba will fail in no time" and that the U.S. "will be there to help", a statement that suggests the pressure on the regime shows no signs of decreasing.
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