Cuban President hits out at Trump's tariffs on island's oil suppliers

Havana: Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez on Saturday strongly condemned the United States' latest move to impose tariffs on countries supplying oil to the island, warning that the measures aim to "strangle" Cuba's economy.

In a series of posts on X, the Cuban President accused the Trump administration of consolidating a "dangerous way of conducting the country's foreign policy through the use of force" and attempting to dictate which nations can trade with Cuba.

He emphasised that Cuba would face the "new onslaught with firmness, equanimity, and confidence that reason is absolutely on our side."

"We condemn in the strongest terms the new escalation by the United States government against Cuba in its determination to impose an absolute blockade on fuel supplies to our country. The Trump administration is consolidating a dangerous way of conducting the country's foreign policy through the use of force and of exercising its ambitions to ensure imperialist hegemony. As announced, that country claims the right to dictate to sovereign States which nations they may trade with and to which they may export their national products," Diaz-Canel stated in his post.

"The decision is one: Homeland or Death! We shall overcome!" the Cuban President added.

Earlier on Thursday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order warning of fresh tariffs against countries supplying oil to Cuba, stepping up economic pressure on the communist island nation.