G7 repeats US falsehoods about Cuba: Cuban Foreign Minister

Havana: Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said on Thursday that a recent Group of Seven (G7) statement ignored the harm caused by the US embargo against Cuba, while endorsing fabricated pretexts for punishing the Caribbean country.

In a post on the social media platform X, Rodriguez said the G7 foreign ministers' statement, released Wednesday after two days of talks in Paris, "omits the reality of the cruel impact of the blockade, the economic war and the energy blockade imposed by the US government against Cuba."

Rodriguez described US policy toward Cuba as "genocidal" and a "flagrant, massive and systematic" violation of the human rights of Cubans and the sovereignty of third countries, Xinhua News Agency reported.

He recalled that on October 28, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for an end to the US embargo on Cuba, which Washington has maintained for more than six decades.

Rodriguez said the international community had once again condemned the embargo at the General Assembly, while the G7 had chosen to repeat "false arguments fabricated by Washington" to justify the embargo.

The G7 members -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States -- expressed concern over Cuba's "profound economic crisis and humanitarian needs" and called for improvements in the delivery of humanitarian aid.

The statement's section on Cuba made no mention of the U.S. embargo, economic sanctions or the Trump administration's threats of military intervention. It also did not address Washington's January 29 executive order, which set out a process for imposing additional tariffs on goods from countries that supply oil to Cuba.

Last week, Cuba denounced the United States over its intensified sanctions against the island, including what it described as an energy blockade, at the 30th Ibero-American Summit in Madrid, Spain.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on social media that Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez addressed the summit, held from November 4 to 5, denouncing the expanded US sanctions, which also target individuals and companies seeking to do business with Cuba.

According to Diaz-Canel, Rodriguez reaffirmed Cuba's commitment to Ibero-American cooperation based on equality, sovereignty and mutual respect, and in line with the national priorities of countries in the region.

In his address, Rodriguez stressed the importance of advancing joint projects, sharing knowledge and pursuing common solutions to promote sustainable development.

Over the past 10 months, Rodriguez said, Cubans have endured an unprecedented tightening of the U.S. trade embargo, an energy blockade tantamount to a naval blockade, and secondary sanctions targeting individuals and organizations seeking to trade with the island.

"The United States has pushed its obsessive war of economic strangulation against Cuba to inhumane levels of collective punishment," the foreign minister said.

He called for action, in line with the founding principles of the Ibero-American Community, to counter arbitrary sanctions and the abuse of power.

Rodriguez also reiterated Cuba's commitment to strengthening Ibero-American cooperation during Honduras' tenure as the bloc's pro tempore secretariat.

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