Cuba’s foreign minister has warned against US policies toward the island nation, saying Washington’s actions are undermining international peace and security and amount to an “act of war” through an energy blockade.
Addressing a high-level open debate in the UN Security Council on “Upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and strengthening the UN-centred international system,” Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla said on Tuesday.
The minister questioned: “How can you refer to the defense of the central role of the United Nations in promoting peace and development and safeguarding the international order based on international law and basic norms in international relations to avoid further conflicts where the strong force themselves on the weak, without, of course, mentioning the genocide against Palestine or the imperialist aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran and the war in the Middle East?”
“The government of the United States, by its deeds, is in a position to erode international peace and security and violate international law and international humanitarian law regarding the Republic of Cuba,” he added.
Criticising Washington’s approach to Cuba as “politically motivated”, he described US restrictions on Cuba’s energy sector as equivalent to a blockade.
“Now, the oil and energy blockade that the United States applies against Cuba is, by its effects, equivalent to a naval blockade, which is an act of war and genocide that subjects the Cuban population to conditions that threaten its integrity and existence,” he said.
Warning of the consequences of military escalation, he said: “Military aggression would provoke a bloodbath. Thousands of Cubans would die defending their country and their sacred values, and also young Americans would perish without a cause or an idea to defend.”
