Cuba’s Top Diplomat Joins Officials in Moscow, Condemns U.S. Blockade Cutting Oil Supplies

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parilla of Cuba met with Russian counterparts in Moscow on Wednesday to denounce recent U.S. actions in the Caribbean in what appears to be a symbolic show of international solidarity with the island’s oldest ally.

The Cuban government, and its 10 million inhabitants, are reeling from the most crippling period of economic travails in the island’s history as almost 9o% of its residents live in conditions of extreme poverty.

Chronic energy blackouts, food and medical supply shortages, extreme hyperinflation, and an accelerating sanitation crisis that risks the spread of disease throughout the densely populated capital of Havana have residents clamoring for reforms as the regime hopelessly attempts to fend off increasing political and economic pressure from the administration in Washington.

Reports from the island indicate that the U.S. government is currently weighing potential military options as officials in both the White House and the State Department under Marco Rubio are reportedly looking for their next Delcy Rodríguez, who can resume control over key government institutions following an eventual demise of current regime leadership in Havana.

The two diplomats criticized the U.S. embargo surrounding Cuba, “We call on the U.S. to show common sense and refrain from the military-maritime blockade of the island of freedom,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Lavrov added that Moscow “stands with our friends,” referring to Cuba as a “brotherly state,” adding, “after more than a 70-year blockade now even threatening to toughen their illegitimate and anti-humane actions.”

Foreign Minister Rodríguez was also slated to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin, where Putin, who last visited Cuba in 2014 and met with Fidel Castro, acknowledged the historical relations between the two countries, stating that Moscow has “always been on the side of Cuba’s struggle for independence.”

Putin also stated that his government considers the U.S. sanctions on nations that distribute fuel to the island of Cuba as “unacceptable,” but made no pledge of material support for its Latin American dependent.