Donald Trump, to “suffocate” the sanctions-hit country’s economy. Trump signed an executive order on Thursday threatening additional tariffs on countries that sell oil to Cuba, marking the latest move in Washington’s pressure campaign against Havana. The order alleged that the communist-run Cuban government poses an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US national security.

In a social media post on Friday, Díaz-Canel said that under a “false and baseless pretext”, Trump plans “to suffocate” Cuba’s economy by imposing tariffs “on countries that sovereignly trade oil” with the island. “This new measure reveals the fascist, criminal and genocidal nature of a clique that has hijacked the interests of the American people for purely personal ends,” he said, in an apparent reference to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Cuban American and a known hardliner against the Cuban government.

Cuba, which has been grappling with rolling electricity blackouts blamed on fuel shortages, was cut off from critical supplies of Venezuelan oil following the US abduction of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro and his wife during a military raid on the capital, Caracas, earlier this month. At least 32 members of Cuba’s armed forces and intelligence agencies were reportedly killed in the January 3 attack.

The US has since taken effective control of Venezuela’s oil sector, and Trump, a Republican, has issued threats against other left-wing governments in the region, vowing to halt oil shipments previously sent to Cuba. Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez on Friday declared an “international emergency” in response to Trump’s move, which he said constitutes “an unusual and extraordinary threat”.

Venezuela’s government also condemned the measure in a statement on Friday, stating that it violates international law and the principles of global commerce. Reporting from Havana, Al Jazeera’s Ed Augustin said Trump’s announcement “is a massive psychological blow”, noting that analysts describe it as “the most powerful economic blow the United States has ever dealt the island”.

Days after Maduro’s abduction and transfer to the US, Trump urged Cuba to make a deal “before it is too late”, without specifying what kind of agreement he was referring to. In a social media post, Trump suggested that Rubio could become president of Cuba. “Sounds good to me!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform. (Aljazeera)