Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez stated on Monday that Havana and Washington are not currently engaged in negotiations, and there is no agenda for future talks. This comes as the Trump administration continues its campaign of economic pressure on the island.
Rodríguez made these remarks during a media conference where he presented Cuba's latest estimate of the damage caused by the decades-old US embargo, which has been in place since Fidel Castro's communist revolution in 1959. The Cuban government claims the US embargo cost its economy $8 billion between March 2025 and February 2026, a record high and a 7 percent increase from the previous reporting period.
He noted that this total does not include more recent sanctions, such as restrictions on the island's energy supply imposed in January and secondary sanctions implemented in May.
In a post on X, Rodríguez described the US policy as "economic asphyxiation" and called the blockade, which Havana blames for shortages and economic hardships, "genocidal." He detailed the severe impact on daily life, including only two to three hours of electricity per day, food spoiling due to lack of refrigeration, parents fanning children in the heat, children unable to do schoolwork in the dark, and limited internet access for young people. "All family life [is] damaged," he stated, emphasizing that Cuba is not a threat, but the blockade is.
Rodríguez characterized the situation as "collective punishment," attributing it to a US "energy siege," an "extreme tightening of the blockade," and secondary sanctions.
Tensions between Washington and Havana have escalated under US President Donald Trump, despite earlier talks between officials that have since ceased.
The diplomatic dispute is set to move to the United Nations, where the General Assembly will consider its annual resolution calling for an end to the US embargo on October 27 and 28. Rodríguez accused Washington of exerting "extraordinary pressure and intimidation" on other UN member states ahead of the vote, but expressed confidence that Cuba will still receive "overwhelming support" for ending the embargo.
