He Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Minrex) of Cuba issued a statement this Friday in which it denounces the assault by United States military forces on an oil tanker that was sailing in international waters near the coast of Cuba. Venezuelaand links the event with the economic war unleashed by the northern nation against the island.
He document qualifies the event that occurred on December 10 as a serious violation of International Law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation.
The economic war against #Cuba
Statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba
https://t.co/8VU7rPrXs0 pic.twitter.com/fYkQYULzWF
— Cuban Foreign Ministry (@CubaMINREX) December 12, 2025
In turn, it holds the United States Government responsible for the commission of these crimes, “which harm the international community as a whole.”
For Cuba, what happened is part of the escalation unleashed by the Donald Trump Administration “to prevent Venezuela’s legitimate right to freely use and trade its natural resources with other nations, including hydrocarbon supplies to Cuba.”
However, the statement does not directly confirm, nor does it deny, the information published by various media outlets indicating that the ship loaded with oil – flying the Guyanese flag – was heading towards Cuba.
Cuban government condemns US confiscation of an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast
The Foreign Ministry reports that since Donald Trump’s first term, measures were adopted to stop the marketing of Venezuelan crude oil and sanctions were imposed on the ships that transported them to Cuba.
“This situation persists and is now getting worse with the use of military force to try to impose its dominance over Our America,” he adds.
Furthermore, he highlights that “these actions have a negative impact on Cuba and intensify the policy of maximum pressure and economic asphyxiation of the United States, with a direct impact on the national energy system and, consequently, on the daily lives of our people.”
At the same time, he indicates that “this obvious act of application of the Trump corollary of the Monroe Doctrine transgresses the proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace and demands universal condemnation.”
Trump revives the Monroe Doctrine: The “Trump Corollary” redefines US policy towards Latin America
More pressure in the Caribbean
Days after the incident in the Caribbean with the oil tanker, the United States Government announced new sanctions to shipping companies and vessels that help transport Venezuelan crude oil for marketing.
The new sanctions, announced by the Treasury Department, also fall on three nephews of Cilia Flores, wife of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, along with a businessman linked to the government of that country, according to publish the CNN network.
The Treasury Department announced sanctions against three nephews of the Venezuelan president’s wife, Cilia Flores; a businessman affiliated with Maduro; and six shipping companies that operate in the oil sector of the Latin American country ➡️ https://t.co/gu5Xb6pGXX pic.twitter.com/P2V6mTK5wQ
— FRANCE 24 Spanish (@France24_es) December 12, 2025
Northern authorities claim that the six vessels now sanctioned engaged in deceptive and unsafe maritime transportation practices that provided financial resources to the Maduro government.
It is known that four of these vessels have the Panamanian flag, one carries the flag of the Cook Islands and the other that of Hong Kong.
The measures further intensify the pressure campaign deployed for months by the Trump Administration on Venezuela, which has included the extensive military presence and warships in the Caribbean Sea, and the attack on vessels that were allegedly involved in drug trafficking.
For his part, Maduro has stated that the growing and aggressive campaign against him is motivated mainly by the desire to obtain Venezuelan oil.
Havana accuses the US of seeking a “violent overthrow” of Maduro in Venezuela
