Cuba accuses US secretary of state of escalating tensions through sanctions

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla has sharply criticised the United States and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, accusing Washington of intensifying pressure on Cuba through sanctions and hostile rhetoric.

In a statement posted on X, Rodríguez said the U.S. secretary of state was promoting “falsehoods” that could increase tensions between the two countries, Caliber.Az reports.

Miente nuevamente el Secretario de Estado de #EEUU para instigar una agresión militar que provocaría el derramamiento de sangre de cubanos y estadounidenses.#Cuba no es, ni nunca ha sido, una amenaza para la seguridad nacional de EEUU. Es el gobierno estadounidense el que…

— Bruno Rodríguez P (@BrunoRguezP) May 21, 2026

“The U.S. Secretary of State lies once again to instigate a military aggression that would provoke the shedding of Cuban and American blood,” Rodríguez wrote.

The Cuban foreign minister rejected accusations that Cuba poses a threat to U.S. national security and instead accused Washington of carrying out long-standing economic and political pressure against the island.

“Cuba is not, nor has it ever been, a threat to the national security of the United States,” he said.

Rodríguez also criticised U.S. sanctions policy and the decades-old embargo, arguing that recent measures have worsened economic conditions in Cuba by restricting fuel imports and increasing financial pressure.

He further rejected the U.S. designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, calling it “falsehood,” and accused the United States of historically tolerating anti-Cuban militant activity from its own territory.

“The Secretary of State knows full well that the strengthening of unilateral coercive measures—for which he has been the ruthless architect—is the main obstacle to Cuba's economic development,” Rodríguez said.

By Sabina Mammadli