ISTANBUL, February 27. /TASS/. Cuba’s direct losses from the decades-long US blockade have exceeded $3 billion, the country’s ambassador to Ankara, Alejandro Francisco Diaz Palacios, told the Anadolu news agency.
"Cuba has never posed a threat to the United States’ national security," the diplomat said. "The blockade deeply affects Cuban society and the Cuban people, and creates major obstacles to Cuba’s socioeconomic development. The direct losses from it have surpassed $3 billion," the ambassador noted.
He recalled the executive order signed by US President Donald Trump on January 30, introducing tariffs on all goods coming from countries that supply or sell oil to Cuba, which further tightened the blockade. "These sanctions directly affect the everyday life of the Cuban people. Blocking fuel supplies is aimed at provoking an economic collapse in the country," Palacios emphasized.
The ambassador compared Washington’s policies regarding Havana to genocide. "These policies effectively violate international law, the right to free trade, and all international agreements on human rights," he said.