Cuba warns of a “bloodbath” if the United States attacks it and Washington imposes sanctions

Adding fuel to the fire, Washington intensified its pressure on Havana this Monday by announcing sanctions against its intelligence agency and nine Cuban citizens, including the ministers of Communications, Energy and Justice.

Several senior officials of the ruling Communist Party (PCC, sole) and at least three generals are also among those sanctioned, according to a statement from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Trump considers that Cuba, located 150 kilometers from the coast of Florida, represents “an exceptional threat” to the national security of the United States. The Republican has made repeated threats to “take control” of Cuba, and even suggested sending an aircraft carrier.

After overthrowing President Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, Cuba’s main ally in Latin America, Washington cut off the supply of Venezuelan oil to the island and threatens sanctions against the country that sells it fuel.

The island, under a US embargo since 1962, has only received one Russian tanker since late January.

Trump’s oil blockade keeps its economy practically paralyzed, while it has worsened the serious economic crisis it was already facing, with lack of food, medicine and prolonged blackouts.

The Axios report was released days after CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Havana for negotiations.

It also came to light amid US media reports suggesting that the Trump administration is seeking to indict Raúl Castro – 94-year-old brother of the late revolutionary leader Fidel Castro – as part of its maximum pressure campaign against the island.

Havana maintains that the oil blockade has caused the country to run out of the diesel and fuel oil necessary to power the generators that complement the electrical production of its seven deteriorating power plants.

On Monday, Cuba received a new shipment of humanitarian aid from Mexico, the fifth that Claudia Sheinbaum’s government has sent to the island since February.

Unlike previous shipments, which were transported by the Mexican Navy, this shipment was transported by a merchant ship, according to journalists from the AFP agency. The ship is carrying 1,700 tons of aid.

Cuba’s Food Industry Minister, Alberto López, stated that the shipment included powdered milk and beans intended for children and the elderly.