Havana has firmly rejected the latest round of Trump administration sanctions, which target a military-controlled conglomerate and compound an existing fuel blockade that has caused widespread blackouts across the island.

Havana rejects latest measures

The Cuban government has rejected the most recent sanctions imposed by US President Donald Trump, describing them as collective punishment of the Cuban people.

The measures target a military-controlled conglomerate and arrive on top of an effective US fuel blockade that has already produced widespread blackouts and acute fuel shortages across the island.

UN experts have warned of what they describe as "energy starvation" resulting from the blockade.

Oil blockade hammers households and small firms

The fuel crisis has struck Cuba's private sector with particular force. Small family businesses, already strained by rolling power outages, have found the oil blockade a significant additional blow to their operations.

May Day celebrations in Havana this year coincided with the announcement of further US sanctions, with large numbers of Cubans marking International Workers' Day as new pressure from Washington intensified.

Washington's position

Trump has publicly called Cuba "a failed nation" as his administration broadens its pressure campaign against Havana. The administration has also offered USD 100 million in aid to Cuba contingent on political reform, while placing the blame for Cubans' hardship on the country's communist leadership, which it accuses of "standing in the way" of that assistance.

The US Senate blocked a legislative attempt to prevent Trump from using military force against Cuba. Senator Tim Kaine, who backed the measure, said that if any country did to the United States "what we are doing to Cuba" it would be considered "an act of war".

Talks, with limits

Cuba's government confirmed it had held a meeting with US officials on the island, with a Cuban Foreign Ministry official describing the exchange as "respectful and professional" and free of threats. Havana has stated it wants the energy blockade lifted as a condition for any meaningful engagement with Washington.

No agreement has been reported from those talks, and the sanctions and blockade remain in place.