Cuba calls on US to lift blockade following aid offer

The United States should lift its blockade on Cuba rather than offer aid to the struggling island, President Miguel Diaz-Canel said Thursday, as the country endures worsening power cuts.

Cuba's energy crisis has deepened since January, when the United States imposed an oil blockade on the communist-run island of 9.6 million people.

Only one Russian oil tanker has made it through since then, and power cuts and supply shortages have become the norm, with Cuban officials saying that the country's oil reserves have run out.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has renewed an offer of $100 million in aid on the condition that the assistance be distributed by the Catholic Church, bypassing the government.

In a post on X, Diaz-Canel urged the United States to instead lift its blockade.

"The damage could be eased in a much simpler and faster way by lifting or relaxing the blockade, since it is known that the humanitarian situation is coldly calculated and induced," he said.

But, if Washington showed "true willingness" to provide aid, he added, "it will encounter no obstacles or ingratitude from Cuba."

AFP