Rodriguez criticized U.S. sanctions targeting Cuba’s mining, foreign trade and metallurgy sectors for obstructing the delivery of basic services. Rodriguez made the statement on the U.S.-based X platform.
Rodriguez accused U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio of deliberately trying to prevent the Cuban government from delivering basic services to the public. Rodriguez said the sanctions were blocking shipments of containers carrying food, medicine and medical equipment supplied by private micro, small and medium-sized businesses in Cuba.
Cuba responds to sanctions
Describing the U.S. sanctions against Cuba as a “failed obsession,” Rodriguez said the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples had worked for more than 60 years to promote friendship, international solidarity, justice and peace.
Rodriguez said the institution stood in direct opposition to the values advocated in Rubio’s policies.
Institutions and executives added to the list
The United States imposed sanctions on individuals linked to Cuba’s mining, foreign trade and metallurgy sectors as part of a pressure policy aimed at bringing about political and economic change on the island. Nine state institutions, including the Ministry of Construction, were added to the sanctions list.
Three executives of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, which had previously been sanctioned, were also among those added to the list. They were identified as ICAP President Fernando Gonzalez Llort, First Vice President Noemi Rabaza Fernandez and North America Director Leima Martinez Freire.
Fernando Gonzalez Llort was identified as one of five agents who were members of the “Wasp Network” and were returned to Cuba after being convicted in the United States.
