The Government of Venezuela rejected this Friday the decision of the United States to impose tariffs on countries that sell or supply oil to Cuba, a measure signed on Thursday by President Donald Trump and described by Caracas as “punitive.”
In a statement, the Executive headed by the acting president Delcy Rodríguez maintained that the States cannot be prevented from maintaining “legitimate commercial relations” with the island. Likewise, he stated that any action that limits or conditions the exchange of goods and services, as well as the freedom of countries to sovereignly decide their trading partners, constitutes a violation of international law and the fundamental principles of global trade, according to an agency office. EFE.
Venezuela expressed its solidarity with Cuba, a historical ally since the time of the late President Hugo Chávez (1999-2013), and called for “collective action by the international community to face the humanitarian consequences that arise from aggressions of this nature.”
“Considering Cuba as a threat to the national security of the United States of America constitutes nonsense that entails serious threats to its existence as a nation,” the official statement said.
The executive order signed by Trump establishes that the United States may impose tariffs on goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba, considering that the island “constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”
This Friday, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel stated that the new measure “evidences the fascist, criminal and genocidal nature of a clique.”
According to Cuban expert Jorge Piñón, a specialist at the University of Texas Energy Institute, Cuba could face a “serious crisis” within six or eight weeks if it does not receive more oil or fuel.
“The impact would be catastrophic, since diesel is used for the transportation of passengers and goods, railways, agriculture (tractors), industry and as fuel for the water distribution system, as well as distributed generation (generator sets),” Piñón explained to EFE.
EFE/OnCuba
