MINREX Statement: Economic War Against Cuba Intensifies

On December 10, 2025, United States military forces assaulted an oil tanker while it was navigating in international waters in the Caribbean Sea, near the coast of Venezuela.

This act of piracy and maritime terrorism constitutes a serious violation of International Law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation. The government of the United States is responsible for the commission of these crimes, which harm the international community as a whole.

This action is part of the escalation by the United States to impede the legitimate right of Venezuela to freely use and trade its natural resources with other nations, including hydrocarbon supplies to Cuba.

During Donald Trump's first term, measures were adopted to obstruct the free trade of Venezuelan petroleum resources and ships transporting fuel to our country were pursued. This situation persists and is now aggravated by the use of military force in an attempt to impose its dominion over Our America.

These actions negatively impact Cuba and intensify the United States' policy of maximum pressure and economic asphyxiation, with a direct impact on the national energy system and, consequently, on the daily life of our people.

This evident application of the Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine transgresses the proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace and demands universal condemnation.

Havana, December 12, 2025