Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez held high-level emergency talks with UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday, urgently requesting the organization’s “contribution to prevent military aggression by the United States” against the island nation.
Following the meeting on the sidelines of a UN Security Council session in New York, Rodríguez took to social media to voice his warnings, stressing that a unilateral American intervention would inevitably trigger a catastrophic “bloodbath.” He simultaneously called for an immediate halt to Washington’s continued threats involving the use of military force.
During his discussions with Guterres, the Cuban diplomat detailed the severe humanitarian crisis gripping the island, characterizing it as a direct result of an aggressive U.S. energy blockade. Rodríguez condemned the strict measures, secondary sanctions, and fuel embargoes imposed by Washington as an “act of war and genocide” that has severely crippled Cuba’s power grid and economy.
The economic fallout has intensified dramatically following recent U.S. geopolitical actions in the region, particularly after Washington disrupted traditional oil shipments originating from Venezuela.
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Despite the heightened diplomatic hostility, Rodríguez noted that Havana remains open to maintaining bilateral talks with Washington, provided the negotiations respect Cuba’s sovereignty.
“I reiterated, despite the inconsistency of our counterpart, Cuba’s availability to continue bilateral talks with the U.S. without interference in our internal affairs, political system, or elections,” Rodríguez stated.
The diplomatic standoff comes amidst a broader, aggressive strategy enacted by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration since the start of the year. Following the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas earlier this year, the Trump administration has openly weighed similar interventionist tactics against Havana.
U.S. officials have repeatedly threatened to “take control” of Cuba to force systemic regime change.
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Tensions spiked further last week after the U.S. Department of Justice advanced a highly controversial, retroactive indictment against former Cuban President Raúl Castro. The criminal charges relate to the deployment of Cuban military forces that shot down two small civilian aircraft operated by an anti-Castro group thirty years ago, resulting in four deaths.
Rodríguez formally relayed Cuba’s absolute rejection of the indictment to Guterres, calling the legal move “infamous, fraudulent, and illegal.”
While Cuba reaffirms its commitment to international law and multilateralism, Cuban leadership has warned it will exercise its right to self-defense to the absolute limit if its territorial sovereignty is breached.
