Cuba says no negotiations with US despite ‘genocidal’ blockade | Humanitarian Crises News
Cuba Reports Significant Economic Losses Due to U.S. Embargo
Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez stated on Monday that the Cuban government is not currently engaging in negotiations with the United States, as economic pressure from the Trump administration continues. Rodríguez’s remarks came during a press conference where he detailed the impact of the U.S. embargo, which has been in place since Fidel Castro’s communist revolution in 1959.
According to the Cuban government, the embargo has resulted in estimated economic losses of $8 billion from March 2025 to February 2026. This figure, the highest recorded to date, represents a 7 percent increase from the previous reporting period. Rodríguez noted that this total does not account for additional sanctions implemented by Washington in recent months, specifically those targeting the country’s energy supply and secondary sanctions enacted in May.
Rodríguez characterized the embargo as a form of “economic asphyxiation” and referred to it as “genocidal.” He described the current energy crisis in Cuba, where residents face severe blackouts, often receiving only two to three hours of electricity per day. He painted a dire picture of the situation, detailing the struggles of families forced to cope without reliable refrigeration, and students attempting to study in the dark.
“The quality of family life is severely impacted,” he stated, emphasizing that Cuba poses no threat to the U.S., but the embargo constitutes a significant one against the Cuban people. He described the situation as “collective punishment” and attributed the ongoing hardships to a U.S. “energy siege,” an “extreme tightening of the blockade,” and the recent sanctions.
Tensions between the U.S. and Cuba have escalated under President Trump, even following earlier discussions this year which have since ceased. This diplomatic tussle will continue as Cuba prepares for the United Nations General Assembly, which is set to address its annual resolution calling for the end of the U.S. embargo on October 27 and 28.
Rodríguez accused the U.S. of exerting “extraordinary pressure and intimidation” on other UN member states in advance of the vote but expressed confidence that Cuba would secure “overwhelming support” for an end to the embargo.
