'Brutal act of aggression': Cuba denounces Trump's tariff threat, alleges 'blackmail and coercion'

Cuba dismissed US President Donald's Trump's tariff threat on Friday, calling it a "brutal act of aggression". Trump signed an executive order threatening tariffs on countries selling oil to the Caribbean island.

"We denounce to the world this brutal act of aggression against Cuba and its people, who for more than 65 years have been subjected to the longest and cruelest economic blockade ever imposed on an entire nation and who are now guaranteed to be subjected to extreme living conditions," said Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez on X.


"It is now proposed to impose a total blockade on fuel supplies to our country. To justify it, they rely on a long list of lies intended to portray Cuba as a threat it is not. Every day brings fresh evidence that the only threat to peace, security, and stability in the region—and the only malign influence—is that exerted by the government of EEUU against the nations and peoples of Our America, whom it seeks to subject to its diktat, strip of their resources, mutilate their sovereignty, and deprive of their independence," he further added.

Further hitting at US' allegations, the Cuban FM added, "EEUU also resorts to blackmail and coercion, in an attempt to persuade other countries to join its universally condemned policy of blockade against Cuba, threatening those who refuse with the imposition of arbitrary and abusive tariffs, in violation of all norms of free trade."

Cuba's state-run media also responded quickly after Trump’s announcement, warning that the order could paralyze electricity generation, agricultural production, water supply, and health services on an island already facing a crippling economic crisis. "What is the goal? A genocide of the Cuban people," the Cuban government said in a statement on the nightly TV newscast. "All spheres of life will be suffocated by the ‍US government."

This comes after Trump signed an executive order declaring a national emergency regarding threats posed by the Cuban government to US "national security and foreign policy". The order establishes a new tariff system enabling the United States to impose additional tariffs on imports from any country that directly or indirectly sells or provides oil to Cuba, aimed at cutting off one of the key lifelines sustaining the Cuban regime.

Under the order, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Commerce are authorised to issue rules and guidance to implement the tariff mechanism, determine which countries are supplying oil to Cuba, and recommend appropriate tariff actions. The President may modify the order if Cuba or affected countries take significant steps that align with U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives.

The action frames Cuba’s government as a threat due to its support for hostile actors and practices deemed contrary to US interests, and is part of a broader effort to hold the Cuban regime accountable while supporting the aspirations of the Cuban people.