United States President Donald Trump says no extra Venezuelan oil or cash will go to Cuba, and he has urged the communist-run island ought to strike a take care of Washington, ramping up stress on the longtime US nemesis.
Venezuela is Cuba’s largest oil provider, however no cargo has departed from Venezuelan ports to the Caribbean nation for the reason that abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by US forces on January 3 amid a strict US oil blockade on the OPEC nation, in accordance with the newest transport knowledge.
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“THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO! I strongly counsel they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE,” Trump wrote on his Reality Social platform on Sunday.
“Cuba lived, for a few years, on giant quantities of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela,” Trump added.
Trump didn’t elaborate on his urged deal, however US officers have hardened their rhetoric in opposition to Cuba in latest weeks.
Earlier on Sunday, Trump additionally reposted a message on Reality Social suggesting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio may change into the president of communist-ruled Cuba.
Trump shared that submit with the remark: “Sounds good to me!”
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel rejected Trump’s threats in a submit on X.
“Cuba is a free, impartial, and sovereign nation. No one dictates what we do,” Diaz-Canel mentioned.
“Cuba doesn’t assault; it has been attacked by the US for 66 years, and it doesn’t threaten; it prepares, able to defend the homeland to the final drop of blood.”
Earlier, Cuban Overseas Minister Bruno Rodriguez insisted “proper and justice are on Cuba’s aspect”.
The US “behaves like an out-of-control felony hegemon that threatens peace and safety, not solely in Cuba and this hemisphere, however all through the complete world”, Rodriguez posted on X.
Rodriguez additionally mentioned in a separate submit on X that Cuba had the best to import gas from any suppliers prepared to export it. He additionally denied that Cuba had obtained monetary or different “materials” compensation in return for safety providers offered to any nation.
Reporting from Cucuta, Colombia, Al Jazeera’s Alessandro Rampietti mentioned that, regardless of its defiant rhetoric, Cuba might battle to seek out different sources of gas.
“Cuba goes by a really, very tough state of affairs with rolling blackouts, gas shortages each day,” he mentioned.
He added that an oil embargo from the US may worsen and will pressurise Havana to succeed in a take care of Washington.
Beneath a US commerce embargo, Havana since 2000 has more and more relied on Venezuelan oil offered as a part of a deal struck with Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chavez.
As its operational refining capability dwindled in recent times, Venezuela’s provide of crude and gas to Cuba has fallen. However the South American nation remains to be the most important supplier with about 26,500 barrels per day exported final 12 months, in accordance with ship-tracking knowledge and inner paperwork of Venezuela’s state-run oil firm, PDVSA. Venezuela’s shipments coated roughly 50 % of Cuba’s oil deficit.
Cuba additionally depends on imported crude and gas offered by Mexico in smaller volumes.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum final week mentioned her nation had not elevated provide volumes however, given latest political occasions in Venezuela, Mexico had became an “vital provider” of crude to Cuba.
In the meantime, amid Trump’s threats to Cuba, Al Jazeera’s Patty Culhane mentioned Individuals typically need Trump to deal with the home financial system.
“There’s an affordability disaster on this nation, groceries are costly, housing is pricey, medical health insurance has gone up,” she mentioned, reporting from Washington, DC.
“This can be a president who has mentioned he’ll deal with America First. We have now now seen him bomb seven international locations, … so inside [Trump’s] base, they’re beginning to see cracks as a result of this isn’t what he promised on his marketing campaign path,” she added.
