Cuba’s president has accused the United States of carrying out genocide against his people and seeking to seize the Caribbean island nation. President Miguel Diaz-Canel accuses US officials of genocide during a rally on Sunday commemorating the start of the Cuban Revolution in 1953, in a reaction to Washington’s continued pressure, including a crippling oil embargo that has produced regular blackouts and economic hardship.
“I denounce that Cuba is the victim of a cold-bloodedly calculated genocide,” Diaz-Canel said in Pinar del Rio, at the event marking the 73rd anniversary of the uprising against former dictator Fulgencio Batista.
Oil Embargo Deepens Economic Crisis
US relations with the communist-led island have long been tense, but have deteriorated further under President Donald Trump. Washington imposed an oil embargo on Cuba on January 29, causing daily blackouts lasting more than 20 hours. The US, Diaz-Canel said on Sunday, was engaged in “economic strangulation” through its actions.
Employers have been forced to reduce workdays, industrial production has stopped, and water and medicine shortages are hitting a country already suffering from previous US sanctions and financial reforms that fuelled inflation. Payment companies Visa and Mastercard, Spain’s Melia hotel chain, and Air Canada and Air France have all exited the country amid the crisis.
“Cuba is today waging a historic battle … against the walls of a genocidal policy whose objective is to suffocate an entire people in order to appropriate the country,” Diaz-Canel said.
Trump’s Threat to “Take Over” Cuba
Trump has said he would take over Cuba, following the US abduction of former Venezuelan president and Cuban ally Nicolas Maduro in January.
Last week, a US State Department report accused Cuba’s government of running an espionage and influence network against Washington and its Latin American neighbours. In May, the US indicted former president and revolutionary leader Raul Castro, brother of Fidel, on murder and other charges over his alleged role in the 1996 downing of two civilian airplanes operated by Miami-based exiles off the Cuban coast.
Talks Stall as Tensions Persist
Cuba’s government has rejected the accusations and denounced Trump’s rhetoric. Talks between the two countries have largely stalled, Cuban officials said in June.
The Cuban Revolution, led by brothers and later leaders Fidel and Raul Castro, culminated in the fall of the Batista government in 1959. Former President Raul, now 95, was notably absent from Sunday’s rally.
