Cuba criticizes 'dangerous' US threats of military action

(Patria) - Top Cuban officials have sharply criticized a growing series of US statements and threats of military action against Cuba, calling them dangerous and an international crime, amid an ongoing US oil blockade that has largely limited fuel supplies amid a devastating energy crisis, Reuters reported.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez described it as "a hint of military action", saying it was hypocritical and cynical in a social media post late Tuesday, citing decades of US sanctions on Cuba as the cause of its economic and social problems.

"The threat of military attack and aggression itself are international crimes," Rodriguez said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters earlier on Tuesday that the status quo in Cuba was unacceptable, adding that the US would address it, although he did not provide a timeframe.

Rubio's statements on Tuesday were accompanied by a social media post showing the head of the US Embassy mission in Havana, Mike Hammer, walking with Rubio and General Frank Donovan of US Southern Command, which oversees US operations in the Caribbean. Another photo released by the US military on Tuesday shows Rubio shaking hands with Donovan in front of a map of Cuba.

The administration of President Donald Trump has increased pressure on Cuba this year, halting oil shipments from Venezuela, Cuba's long-time main supplier, and threatening sanctions on any country supplying Cuba with oil.

Trump said he would allow one Russian oil tanker to deliver fuel to the island for "humanitarian reasons", although this represents only a fraction of the island's needs during four months.

Havana has this week returned to a routine of regular, multi-hour power outages due to a shortage of Russian oil, leaving many residents worried ahead of a long, hot Caribbean summer.

Trump appeared at a private event on Saturday, joking that the United States could place an aircraft carrier off Cuba to force the island to surrender.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel called the statement an "unprecedented dangerous escalation".

"No aggressor, no matter how strong, will be met with surrender in Cuba," he said.