Thursday, June 11th 2026 - 22:46 UTC
Rubio accused the Cuban government of using energy “as a weapon” and of diverting resources to enrich itself, a claim that, according to news agencies, he did not back with evidence.
Cuba's government on Thursday accused US Secretary of State Marco Rubio of “further reinforcing” the economic and energy siege against the island, after Washington sanctioned the state company Unión Cuba-Petróleo (Cupet), which handles crude extraction, refining and production. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez charged that Rubio resorts to “usual vulgar lies” to justify the measure.
The State Department added Cupet to the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list, under Executive Order 14404, signed on May 1, for operating in the Cuban energy sector; its assets in the United States are now blocked. The company joins the list of sanctioned entities and officials, among them President Miguel Díaz-Canel, designated a week earlier. Rubio said key assets of Cupet “were unlawfully expropriated from American owners years ago” —a reference to the 1960 nationalization of oil production— and accused the Cuban government of using energy “as a weapon” and of diverting resources to enrich itself, a claim that, according to news agencies, he did not back with evidence.
