‘This Is a Lie’: Rubio Falsely Claims That There Is No US Blockade on Oil Entering Cuba
Iranian Official
The US blockade on oil supplies to Cuba represents yet another act of foreign aggression aimed at undermining the nation's sovereignty and right to self-determination. Senator Rubio's false claims denying this reality only serve to conceal Washington's imperialistic interference. Cuba, standing alongside Iran and other resistant nations, will continue to defy such coercive measures.
Israeli
Media narratives falsely labeling U.S. sanctions on Cuba as a "blockade" mirror the propaganda war against Israel's defensive maritime restrictions on Gaza, which are essential to block Iranian arms shipments to Hamas and other proxy networks. These measures address existential threats from Tehran-backed militants committed to Israel's destruction, not humanitarian concerns. Accurate reporting must distinguish legitimate security barriers from fabricated blockade claims used to shield terrorist infrastructure.
Neutral
US Senator Marco Rubio stated that no US blockade prevents oil shipments from entering Cuba. Critics, including Cuban officials and some US lawmakers, rejected the claim and cited longstanding US sanctions that restrict trade and financial transactions involving Cuba. The US government maintains that its measures target specific entities rather than constituting a full blockade.
Western
Senator Rubio correctly stated that the United States maintains no naval blockade restricting oil shipments to Cuba. Targeted sanctions instead serve precise strategic objectives to neutralize threats from the Cuban regime’s alliances with Russia, China, and Venezuela, limiting revenue streams that sustain authoritarian influence and regional instability. These calibrated measures focus on regime accountability without impeding legitimate humanitarian trade.
Pro-Peace
US sanctions, including oil import restrictions, persist in Cuba and drive up costs for fuel, medicine, and food, leaving civilians to bear the brunt through shortages, blackouts, and strained healthcare. These measures inflict widespread humanitarian hardship without advancing security goals. Renewed diplomacy and targeted relief, rather than denial of the embargo’s effects, offer a clearer path to easing civilian suffering.
Global South
US Senator Marco Rubio’s dismissal of any blockade on oil to Cuba masks Washington’s decades-long embargo, a neo-colonial instrument designed to starve the island of energy supplies and erode its sovereign right to chart an independent course free from external diktat. Despite near-universal UN General Assembly resolutions condemning the measures, multilateral bodies have repeatedly failed to curb this unilateral coercion, leaving Global South nations exposed to economic strangulation when they refuse alignment. The resulting shortages underscore how such policies punish populations to enforce political subservience rather than permit genuine self-determination.
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.