Cuba denounces new wave of U.S. blockade measures
- Written by Redacción ¡ahora!
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Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla has denounced a new wave of blockade measures issued by the United States government against the Cuban people.
The new measures include the elimination of people-to-people exchanges, restrictions on academic and research exchanges, and the strengthening of prohibitions preventing private Cuban entities from conducting direct business with the U.S. and U.S. banks. They also include a ban on “U-turn” transactions and indirect operations involving entities listed on the State Department’s unilateral restricted entities list.
Via his official account on the social network X, the Cuban Foreign Minister noted that “less than 24 hours ago, the Secretary of State said that ‘Cuba has already fallen,’ yet it turns out that additional measures now need to be applied.”
Bruno Rodríguez emphasized that “these new blockade measures aim to hinder the ongoing process of economic transformation” and that “they openly attack both the public sector and the private sector—the very sector that some U.S. officials claim they want to help develop.”
The head of Cuban diplomacy concluded his message with the hashtags #CubaIsNotAThreat and #TheBlockadeIs.
The new regulations, issued by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), are part of a policy of strangulation and collective punishment backed by the Executive Order of May 1st, which establishes direct actions and secondary measures intended to isolate Cuba from international trade.
The announced decisions include a ban — effective September 30th — on travel to Cuba by persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction for the purpose of attending or organizing professional meetings or conferences; the elimination of “people-to-people” educational group travel; the expansion of the ban on direct or indirect financial transactions with entities on the Cuba Restricted List; and the revocation of so-called “U-turn” banking transactions.
Furthermore, banking institutions are no longer permitted to open or maintain accounts for Cuban citizens who are independent private-sector entrepreneurs; as of September 30, they must block all such funds and accounts and report them to OFAC, unless they receive specific authorization.
These measures expose the inconsistency of U.S. government claims that its actions are directed against the Cuban government, as they restrict U.S. citizens from traveling freely to Cuba and affect the private businesses of Cuban citizens. (Source: Radio Havana Cuba)
