The United States government has offered the Cuban people a new relationship and $100 million in food and medical aid, while placing the blame for the island’s severe economic hardships directly on its military leaders.
In a Spanish-language video posted to X on Cuban Independence Day, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Cuba’s widespread power outages and shortages are caused by GAESA, a business conglomerate run by the Cuban armed forces.
“The reason you are forced to survive 22 hours a day without electricity is not due to an oil blockade by the US,” Rubio said in the message. “Cuba is controlled by GAESA. While you suffer, these businessmen have $18 billion in assets and control 70% of Cuba’s economy.”
Rubio stated that the $100 million in humanitarian assistance would be distributed through the Catholic Church and other non-governmental organizations rather than the Cuban government.
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“President Trump is offering a new relationship between the US and Cuba. But it must be with you, the Cuban people, and not GAESA,” Rubio said. He added that those in power have “plundered billions of dollars” instead of helping the population.
The Cuban Embassy in Washington rejected Rubio’s statements, calling the Secretary of State a liar on its own X account.
“The reason the US Secretary of State lies so repeatedly and unscrupulously when referring to Cuba and trying to justify the aggression to which he subjects the Cuban people is not ignorance or incompetence,” the Embassy wrote. “He knows full well that there is no excuse for such cruel and ruthless aggression.”
The diplomatic back-and-forth comes at a time when food, fuel, and electricity are critically scarce in Cuba, leaving many areas with only two hours of power per day. While the Cuban government attributes these shortages to the long-standing U.S. embargo, the island’s energy crisis worsened after it stopped receiving free fuel shipments from Venezuela following the removal of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January.
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The White House also issued a statement from President Donald Trump to mark the holiday, comparing Cuba’s 1902 independence from Spain to the American Fourth of July.
“Like the American patriots who cast off tyrannical rule 250 years ago, Cuba’s founding generation rose against the Spanish Empire’s subjugation to claim the same birthright our citizens enjoy today: the right of a free people to govern themselves,” Trump’s message stated. “The regime in Havana today is the direct betrayal of the nation their founding patriots bled and died for. As President, I am taking decisive action on behalf of this long-suffering corner of our hemisphere.”
In tandem with the political messages, the U.S. Justice Department is expected to unseal a criminal indictment against former Cuban leader Raul Castro. The charges connect him to a 1996 incident where the Cuban military shot down two Miami-based rescue planes, resulting in the deaths of four people.
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