UNITED NATIONS, August 8. /TASS/. The US authorities are waging a political and information campaign to justify collective punishment of the Cuban people and possible military aggression against the country, Cuba's Permanent Representative to the UN Ernesto Soberon Guzman told TASS.

"As part of an overt political and media disinformation campaign, the Secretary of State, the White House Press Secretary, the State Department spokesperson and other senior US officials are publicly lying and contradicting one another, trying to justify that which cannot be justified - the collective punishment imposed by the US government on the Cuban people and possible military aggression against Cuban territory," the diplomat said.

He also pointed to contradictions in US officials' statements about Cuba. "How can a government simultaneously be incompetent and failed as a communist regime, yet capable of organizing and leading an alleged international spy campaign threatening US national security?" Soberon Guzman asked.

On March 5, US President Donald Trump announced that Washington intends to develop a further course of action regarding Cuba after concluding the operation against Iran. On February 27, the White House stated that the US could take control of Cuba. On May 18, Politico reported that the US government is increasingly leaning toward the use of military force against Cuba. In a June interview with Axios, the US leader raised the possibility of conducting a regime-change operation in Cuba.