The Kremlin confirmed this Thursday that it is holding talks with Cuba to finalize shipments of oil and petroleum products to the island, in a context marked by the tightening of the economic blockade imposed by the United States for more than half a century.

Cuba's representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Roberto Cabañas, denounced that the United States has launched an unprecedented escalation of aggression against the island, aimed at punishing its entire population, in a blatant attack on its human rights.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel affirmed on Thursday that, despite the difficulties and pressure tactics employed by the United States, surrender is not an option for the Caribbean nation.

In the stillness of a Havana night, the only sounds are the hum of a generator at a distant hospital and the murmur of a family gathered by candlelight. For them, “US national security” is not an abstract concept debated on American cable news; it is the tangible reality of a 20-hour blackout, the smell of spoiled food, and the fear for a child’s refrigerated medicine. This is the face of a policy that the United States government characterizes as a response to an “extraordinary threat.” The real threat, however, is not military. It is the 67-year-old defiance of a small island nation that has refused to relinquish its sovereignty.