The United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, stated that Washington has imposed "the strongest sanctions in history" on the bilateral relationship with Cuba and warned that even more severe actions could follow, during an exclusive interview granted to Noticias RCN and NTN24 in Colombia.
Rubio was straightforward: "On the issue of Cuba, what we will no longer allow is for a military company called GAESA to continue stealing money from Cuba, which is why we have imposed the strongest sanctions in the history of our relationship with Cuba."
He categorically rejected the notion that the suffering of the Cuban people is the responsibility of Washington, attributing it to two causes: the regime's economic model and the incompetence of its leaders.
"Tragically, the Cuban people are suffering, but they are not suffering because of us," he stated, adding that this model "does not work and has never worked."
To illustrate the historical dependency of the dictatorship, he drew a direct line: “First it was the Soviet Union, then it was Hugo Chávez. And when they ran out of the free oil they were stealing from Venezuela, they were left without oil. That’s not our fault; that’s their fault for not having a functioning market.”
Regarding the current regime leaders, he was equally blunt: "Many of the leaders in Cuba at this moment are incompetent, they don’t know how to manage an economy, and they are the ones who have directly contributed to the suffering of the people."
The head of American diplomacy emphasized that the United States will not allow these leaders to continue evading sanctions for their benefit. He detailed that following the implemented measures, many bank accounts have been closed and foreign companies have left the Island because they were doing business with elements of the regime who enriched themselves at the expense of the people.
When the interviewer asked if tougher actions could be taken, he did not rule it out: "There can always be actions. I am not going to speculate on what they are, but we always have the right to operate and take actions to protect the national security of the United States."
Rubio also referred to Nicaragua, stating that the United States "is not in favor" of what is happening there and that it has imposed sanctions on individuals who contribute to that situation.
Regarding both dictatorships, he emphasized that "the primary responsibility for changing a system belongs to the people of those countries."
The statements come just days after Washington imposed sanctions on the Foreign Bank of Cuba and key energy entities such as Comercial CUPET S.A., ABAPET, NICAROTEC, and CEXNI.
The chancellor Bruno Rodríguez had responded days earlier to the latest sanctions by accusing Rubio of "lying about Cuba" and describing the measures as "a crime" and "collective punishment" against the civilian population.
Since January, the Trump administration has carried out more than two dozen actions against Cuba, including sanctions against at least 40 entities and dozens of officials.
In May, , as well as on Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera, identified as its executive president and indicated by the United States as responsible for managing the organization's assets outside of Cuba.
In August, eight Cuban state-owned companies linked to nickel, steel, and tourism were added to the specially designated nationals list, and five entities from the armaments sector faced the same fate weeks earlier.
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