Foreign Minister of Cuba, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, spoke at the UN Security Council on Tuesday, appealing to the international community for urgent help to prevent disaster in the island nation, which is currently under a U.S energy blockade.
“I call on the international community to mobilise to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe that could be imposed through arms or the fuel blockade,” said Rodriguez “Now should be the time for solidarity with Cuba.”
U.S President Donald Trump has been exerting mounting pressure on the country to overthrow its communist government since he took over the office for his second term in January 2025. After the U.S invasion in Venezuela that captured President Nicolas Madura, many fear Cuba might be Trump’s next target for military action.
The United States had imposed a long-standing sanction on Havana since Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, resulting in shortages of food, medicine and other necessities for many years. The situation worsened after Trump cut off Venezuela’s supply of oil to the island after Maduro’s ousting. He also threatened heavy tariffs against any nation that supplied Cuba with oil. This led to severe fuel and diesel shortages in the country, with many areas suffering from prolonged blackouts. Cuban Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy had said the nation had completely run out of diesel and fuel oil.
The Trump administration also indicted former Cuban President Raul Castro over charges relating to the downing of two small U.S-based planes in 1996 that were piloted by anti-Castro humanitarian groups. After the indictment was announced, U.S Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a warning that the administration was laser-focused on changing the communist system.
Rodriguez on Tuesday called the indictment politically motivated and refuted the United States’ claims that Havana posed a national security threat to Washington.
He told the Security Council, “It is an idea that goes against logic and common sense. Let Cuba live in peace.”
