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The Cuban-American Republican congressman Carlos Giménez directly responded this Friday to Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on social media platform X, following the leader's complaints about the new sanctions from Washington against the Cuban state oil company CUPET.
In a message published on his account @RepCarlos, Giménez was blunt: "No cosmetic invention will save you from what is coming. You're not fooling anyone! Your cruelty and profound incompetence have destroyed the economy of Cuba and forced the people to live in absolute misery."
The catalyst for the exchange was the United States sanction against CUPET, announced on Thursday by Secretary of State Marco Rubio under Executive Order 14404, signed by President Donald Trump on May 1, 2026.
The measure blocks the assets and interests of CUPET under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits transactions with the company unless a specific license is obtained from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
Díaz-Canel reacted in a two-part thread on X, describing the action as "limitless imperial perversion" and accusing Washington of prohibiting other countries from supplying fuel to Cuba, only to then "launch an attack against CUPET and further tighten the oil blockade."
Giménez, born in Havana and emigrated to the United States in 1960, has represented Florida's 28th district since 2021 and has maintained a consistently tough stance against the Cuban regime throughout this year.
In February, he described the dictatorship as "pathetic" and called for it to be "completely annihilated and relegated to the dustbin of history." In April, he stated that "that revolution needs to disappear," and in May, he referred to the regime as a "cynical, despotic junta of thieves."
The sanction against CUPET is the second major action under Executive Order 14404, following the one that impacted the military-business conglomerate GAESA on May seventh.
On June fourth, Washington also personally sanctioned Díaz-Canel, his wife Lis Cuesta, and Alejandro Castro Espín.
CUPET controls the entire chain of fuel importation, refining, and distribution on the island, so its designation has a direct impact on the supply to a population that is already suffering from prolonged blackouts and fuel shortages.
A former OFAC advisor clarified that the sanction does not automatically halt all fuel trade with Cuba, but subjects any operation to stricter oversight and may require specific licenses from the Department of the Treasury.
This Friday, amidst that pressure, Díaz-Canel announced a new package of economic reforms, a measure that Giménez flatly dismissed with his response on X.
On Thursday, Washington also sent a message to Havana urging it to negotiate "before it's too late," while Rubio made the Trump administration's position clear: "We will continue to target the regime's capacity."
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