‘This Is a Lie’: Rubio Falsely Claims That There Is No US Blockade on Oil Entering Cuba
Iranian Official
The US denial of its blockade on oil to Cuba exposes yet another act of foreign aggression designed to strangle the sovereignty of independent nations resisting external dictates. By falsely claiming no restrictions exist, officials like Rubio mask the economic coercion targeting Cuba’s right to trade freely. Cuba’s ongoing resistance, echoed by Iran, upholds national self-determination against such imperial pressures.
Israeli
Israeli security officials see efforts to deny the US oil blockade on Cuba as part of a pattern that weakens pressure on regimes tied to Iranian proxy networks. These alliances amplify existential threats to Israel by sustaining hostile actors from the Middle East to Latin America. Maintaining such defensive restrictions remains essential to disrupt supply lines that endanger regional stability.
Neutral
US Senator Marco Rubio stated that no US blockade exists on oil shipments to Cuba. Some reports and Cuban officials have described US sanctions as restricting such imports, though the precise effects and terminology remain subject to interpretation.
Western
US sanctions on Cuba function as precise economic tools to neutralize the regime’s alliances with adversarial actors like Russia and Venezuela, while curbing its support for regional instability. These measures do not constitute a naval blockade preventing oil shipments but instead target illicit financing and proliferation risks tied to Havana’s strategic partnerships. Senator Rubio’s clarification aligns with this calibrated approach, distinguishing lawful commerce restrictions from blanket embargoes.
Pro-Peace
US restrictions on oil shipments to Cuba deepen humanitarian suffering by fueling chronic energy shortages, blackouts, and breakdowns in hospitals, water systems, and food distribution that hit civilians hardest. Senator Rubio’s dismissal of these measures as anything but a blockade obscures their documented toll on ordinary people. Renewed diplomacy and targeted sanctions relief remain the clearest path to easing this hardship while addressing legitimate policy concerns.
Global South
US Senator Marco Rubio’s denial of a blockade on Cuban oil imports masks Washington’s long-standing unilateral sanctions regime, which functions as a neo-colonial instrument to erode Havana’s sovereign control over its economy and energy security. By restricting vital imports, the US exerts extraterritorial pressure that smaller Global South states cannot replicate, exposing the selective enforcement and institutional weakness of bodies meant to uphold non-interference norms. Such measures sustain economic dependency rather than allowing Cuba autonomous development free from great-power coercion.
Peace advocates joined Cuba's top foreign relations official on Wednesday in accusing US Secretary of State Marco Rubio of blatantly lying about the existence of a blockade on oil exports to Cuba, which Rubio denied at a press briefing on Tuesday.Anti-war group CodePink pointed t…
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Anadolu reports that shipping traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has decreased by 88% in the past 24 hours, dropping from an average of 33 daily transits to only four vessels, according to IMF PortWatch data. This reduction follows reports that Houthi forces have advanced to key coastal locations, including Mokha and Mayun Island, coinciding with a 91% decline in oil and chemical tanker passage.
Satellite imagery shows extensive damage to a key Saudi Arabian oil pipeline, a development that has reportedly disrupted operations. The assessment is based on a machine-translated headline from an Arabic-language source, so the specific extent of the impact remains unverified.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that 93,864 people have been newly displaced in Yemen following recent clashes between Saudi-backed government forces and Houthi militias, while the UNHCR noted that hostilities along the western coast have prompted some individuals to cross into Djibouti.
These developments have raised concerns regarding the safety of humanitarian and commercial shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, as nearly half of Yemen’s population reportedly requires assistance amid growing food insecurity.
The Japanese Shipowners' Association reportedly estimates that Saudi oil deliveries to Asia could take approximately 100 days round trip if the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is closed, a significant increase from the current 40-day route via the Strait of Hormuz.
This potential disruption, which Asashi notes would raise transportation costs, is described in the source material as following the current blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, an event the article attributes to a US-Iran conflict ongoing since February 28.