Havana: The US government has been pressuring governments around the world to end bilateral healthcare programs with Cuba, according to Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio.
The impact of ending these programs has been “to deprive many communities of access to health services,” he wrote on Facebook, Xinhua news agency reported.
The United States is also pressuring other governments to change their traditional stance against the US economic blockade and even to refuse to discuss the issue at the UN, he said.
It is already successfully pressuring other governments to comply with the ban issued by Washington on exporting fuel to Cuba, he added.
Cuban authorities have repeatedly denounced Washington’s energy blockade as an act of genocide and a form of collective punishment that causes extended daily blackouts, transportation shortages, and obstacles to economic activity.
Over the past six months, Cuba, which relies heavily on fuel imports, has received only one oil tanker, the Russian Anatoly Kolodkin, carrying approximately 100,000 tonnes of crude oil.
According to official sources, Cuba requires about eight fuel tankers per month to operate normally.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump hinted at a possible shift in US policy towards Cuba, saying the island nation was “coming our way” but offering no further details.
Trump made the remark while speaking at the dedication of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota, on Wednesday (local time). His comments came during a broader discussion of Theodore Roosevelt’s foreign policy legacy and US influence in the Western Hemisphere.
“Speaking of Cuba, after many, many decades, it’s coming our way, coming our way,” Trump said.
The President did not explain what he meant or announce any new policy towards Cuba.
Trump made the comment after praising Theodore Roosevelt’s role in expanding US influence overseas, including the construction of the Panama Canal and the outcome of the Spanish-American War.
He noted that following the conflict, Spain “relinquish(ed) their grip on Cuba and Guam, the Philippines and Puerto Rico,” before adding his brief reference to Cuba.
–IANS
