Cuba condemns US ‘collective punishment’ as Trump predicts deal

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez used his address to the UN General Assembly to denounce measures by the United States that Havana says have intensified shortages on the island. He characterized the administration’s oil blockade as an act of collective punishment aimed at creating a humanitarian crisis, and warned that any military intervention would cause massive destruction. Rodríguez told the assembly that Cuba remains willing to engage in talks with the United States, but said any negotiations must occur on the basis of sovereign equality and without preconditions. His remarks follow a week in which US officials publicly signalled pressure for political change in Cuba and imposed additional restrictions on fuel supplies. President Donald Trump, speaking at the White House, said he expected the two countries to reach an agreement and dismissed the likelihood of the United States using military force, adding that the US wanted to help Cuba. Earlier this month at the UN, Trump described Cuba as a failed state and told the assembly that "freedom will be coming"; Cuba’s delegation left the chamber during that speech. The dispute unfolds against a long-standing US economic embargo that has been in place for more than 60 years, and which Washington has augmented this year with an oil blockade that Cuban officials say has contributed to fuel shortages and nationwide blackouts. Several countries, including Brazil, Mexico and Pakistan, have criticized the additional measures and reiterated calls for an end to unilateral economic restrictions. Since 1992, the UN General Assembly has repeatedly adopted a resolution urging the United States to lift its economic, commercial and financial embargo on Cuba.