Cuban official says talks with the US are at a standstill, announces UN debate on US oil embargo

HAVANA (AP) — Talks between Cuba and the U.S. are at a standstill, despite the island recently approving a series of free-market reforms, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez announced Tuesday.

He noted that the newly unveiled reforms were neither mentioned nor discussed in earlier talks between the two nations.

“The recently announced (measures) are a matter of total and absolute sovereignty,” Rodriguez said. “We have neither listened to nor are we interested in the U.S. government’s opinion on them.”

But he said it was striking that they “were met with a new package of unilateral coercive measures ... against Cuba.”

Earlier this month, the U.S. slapped new sanctions on Cuban President Miguel Díaz Canel and other officials, as well as on companies key to the island’s crumbling economy.

Some of the sanctions were announced after Cuba’s Communist Party and the National Assembly of People’s Power approved 176 economic measures representing the biggest economic shift since the revolution. They align with some of the demands made by the United States, which is pressuring for a change in Cuba’s political and economic model.

The reforms include more space for private businesses, free hiring of personnel and authorization for private banks and investment by Cubans abroad.

Rodriguez added that while the conduct of U.S. government officials was “generally respectful” during earlier talks, he said it is accompanied by “constant aggressive statements against Cuba, threats of military aggression, and the imposition of additional coercive measures.”

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rodríguez made the statements during a press conference in which he announced a July 7 debate at the U.N. General Assembly on the energy embargo imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump in late January.

“The blockade and the policy of aggression and hostility of the United States government against Cuba are a threat to the existence and well-being of the Cuban people, and to the exercise of their human rights,” Rodríguez said.

He also denied that Cuba is a threat to the U.S., which he called “a major military and nuclear power.”

The oil blockade has further paralyzed Cuba’s economy, leading to prolonged blackouts, fuel rationing, internet outages, and the suspension of public transportation and flight cancellations. Basic services such as garbage collection and water delivery have been suspended, and workdays have been reduced.