US President Donald Trump will impose tariffs on goods from countries that sell or supply oil to Cuba. The White House announced this on its website.
Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that establishes a process to punish countries that supply oil to Cuba. It is not clear which countries supply oil to Cuba. Nor is the tariff rate mentioned. The measure is being taken to protect US national security and foreign policy against what it describes as Cuba's harmful actions and policies.
Among other things, the White House accuses the communist regime in Cuba of hosting a Russian intelligence facility, which the White House says aims to steal sensitive information about US national security. The US government also believes that Cuba offers sanctuary to the militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas.
- These actions constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States and require immediate action to protect American citizens and interests, writes the White House.
Cuba's Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez, calls the new move by the Trump administration brutal.
- We condemn to the world this brutal act of aggression against Cuba and its people, who for more than 65 years have been subject to the longest and most cruel economic blockade ever imposed on an entire nation, and who are now threatened with extreme living conditions, he writes on X.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the US government is actively seeking individuals with influence in the Cuban government who can help overthrow the country's communist regime before the end of the year. This was told to the media by American officials with knowledge of the matter.
According to the officials, the Trump administration believes that Cuba's economy is close to collapse and that the country's leadership has never been more vulnerable than now, after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was recently ousted by the United States.
Venezuela is Cuba's main supplier of oil, and with the ouster of Maduro, the Cubans have lost a crucial support. Venezuela's oil is a cornerstone of Cuba's economy. According to economists, Cuba could run out of oil within weeks, wrote The Wall Street Journal.
/ritzau/
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