Havana.- The Cuban government stated this Wednesday that U.S. sanctions against the island are keeping more than 7,000 containers with food, resources for the energy and water sectors, and medicines held in various Caribbean ports.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, denounced that the containers contain “merchandise lawfully acquired by Cuba in accordance with international trade standards,” this stated during an address to the current session of the National Assembly of People’s Power (ANPP, unicameral parliament).
“As if the energy siege imposed on our country were not enough, as if the genocide already being committed and the collective punishment imposed on the entire people of Cuba were not enough,” stressed Pérez-Oliva in reference to the U.S. economic blockade, intensified with new pressure measures since the beginning of the year.
The deputy prime minister blamed for the situation “those who try to prevent the arrival of this merchandise, those who remain impassive allowing this genocide to be committed and those who bow to the interests of the U.S.“.
He pointed out that the paralyzed containers include, in addition to food, resources for the drinking water supply program on the island, where “every day more than three million Cubans wake up with difficulties accessing this vital resource“.
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Last week, the state-owned company Medicuba reported the immobilization of two containers carrying a medication for the treatment of epilepsy at the Colombian port of Cartagena de Indias, as the German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd has refused to deliver the freight, citing compliance with the U.S. blockade.
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Shortly before, the French shipping company CMA CGM held dozens of containers bound for Cuba in Jamaica, including one with medical supplies.
Those facts are related to Executive Order 14404, signed on May 1 by U.S. President Donald Trump, which threatens to freeze the assets in U.S. territory of individuals or entities that work or have worked for the Cuban government, as well as those who have supported it financially, materially, or technologically.
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Shortly after, the two European shipping companies that maintained operations with Cuba stopped accepting new orders linked to the island.
The Caribbean island has been experiencing a severe economic crisis since mid-2024, aggravated since January by the impact of the oil blockade applied by Washington, to which were added reinforced sanctions against vital sectors of the economy and companies that maintain business with the Cuban government.
