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Miguel Díaz-Canel published a message this Wednesday, Cuba's Independence Day, in direct response to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who denied the existence of an oil embargo against the island and attributed the energy crisis to the end of subsidized shipments from Venezuela.
Díaz-Canel rejected those claims firmly and challenged the Washington government with a straightforward statement: "Lift the blockade and let's see how we perform."
"Now they cynically claim that there is no oil blockade against Cuba, that everything our people suffer is the fault of the Cuban government," wrote the Cuban leader.
"They lie time and again without any shame, with an alarming audacity, presenting not a single piece of evidence to support their claims," the leader emphasized.
In his post, Díaz-Canel explicitly cited the Executive Order signed by President Donald Trump on January 29, 2026, which declared a national emergency regarding Cuba and imposed secondary tariffs on any country that supplies oil to the island, either directly or indirectly.
"Or was the executive order of January 29, 2026, which imposes unreasonable tariffs on any country that provides fuel to Cuba, suspended?" the ruler asked, and added: "How can we then understand that the Department of the Treasury continues to restrict fuel shipments to Cuba in its systematic updates?"
The exchange occurs within the context of an unprecedented energy crisis in Cuba, with power outages lasting up to 22 hours a day affecting the entire population.
According to the expert Jorge Piñón from the University of Texas, Cuba needs about 110,000 barrels per day of oil but only produces internally around 40,000.
Díaz-Canel himself acknowledged on April 16 that Cuba "absolutely lacks fuel for almost everything," and on May 13 he noted that on that day they stopped generating 1,100 MW due to a lack of fuel, and that between January and April 2026, the country had only received one fuel ship when it needed at least eight per month.
Díaz-Canel described the situation as a "collective punishment" with extreme consequences: "Only very twisted minds could deny before the world that collective punishment being inflicted upon an entire people, which is increasingly becoming an act of genocide."
The chancellor Bruno Rodríguez also reacted this Wednesday, accusing Rubio of "lying" and of promoting a "criminal oil blockade" against the Cuban people.
Rubio, for his part, offered 100 million dollars in food and medicine for Cuba, conditioned on being distributed by the Catholic Church or other charitable organizations, without going through the government or the military business conglomerate GAESA.
The Secretary of State stated that "the reason they are forced to survive 22 hours a day without electricity is not due to a petroleum blockade by the United States."
Cuban energy imports would have fallen by 80% to 90% following the measures adopted since January 2026, which also included a ban on the shipment of Russian oil to Cuba through a license from the Treasury Department issued on March 20, and the expansion of general sanctions through a new executive order signed on May 1.
"Deeds, not words, are the answers that Cuba and the world demand," concluded Díaz-Canel in his post, marking the regime's most direct response to Washington since the energy crisis intensified earlier this year.
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