By Zoila Palma: Cuba’s leadership struck a defiant tone on Sunday after U.S. President Donald Trump declared that no more Venezuelan oil or money would flow to the island and urged Havana to strike a deal with Washington.
Trump’s comments mark a fresh escalation in pressure on the Communist-run country, which has long relied on subsidized energy supplies from Venezuela and has been a persistent U.S. adversary for decades, Reuters report.
Venezuela is Cuba’s largest oil supplier, but shipments have halted since Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured by U.S. forces earlier this month amid a strict U.S. oil blockade, according to shipping data.
At the same time, Washington and Caracas are advancing a $2 billion agreement to supply up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil to the United States, with proceeds held in U.S. Treasury-supervised accounts, underscoring a dramatic shift in regional energy flows.
Trump, writing on his Truth Social platform, said Cuba had long survived on Venezuelan oil and money and warned that such support would now end.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel swiftly rejected the threat, saying the United States had no moral authority to dictate terms to Havana. “Cuba is a free, independent, and sovereign nation,” he said, vowing the island would defend itself after decades of U.S. hostility.
Cuban officials insisted the country has the right to import fuel from any willing supplier, even as the loss of Venezuelan crude deepens an already severe economic crisis marked by blackouts, shortages and mass emigration.
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By Zoila Palma: Cuba’s leadership struck a defiant tone on Sunday after U.S. President Donald Trump declared that no more Venezuelan oil or money would flow to the island and urged Havana to strike a deal with Washington. Trump’s comments mark a fresh escalation in pressure on the Communist-run country, which has long relied on
The post International News: Cuba defiant after Trump says island to receive no more Venezuelan oil or money appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.