Cuba's Diaz-Canel Accuses US of 'Genocide'

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel accused the United States of committing "genocide" against Cuba and seeking to seize the island.

Speaking at a rally in Pinar del Rio marking the 73rd anniversary of the 1953 uprising against dictator Fulgencio Batista, he said, "I denounce that Cuba is the victim of a cold-bloodedly calculated genocide," Diaz-Canel said, calling U.S. actions "economic strangulation."

Embargo Deepens Economic Crisis

Washington imposed an oil embargo on Cuba in January, resulting in daily blackouts lasting over 20 hours.

Industrial production has stopped since then, and water and medicine shortages have compounded the hardship from earlier U.S. sanctions and financial reforms that fueled inflation.

Payment companies Visa and Mastercard, Spain's Melia hotel chain, and Air Canada and Air France have all exited Cuba amid the crisis.

Trump's ‘Take Over’ Remark

Diaz-Canel's comments followed Trump's statement that he would "take over" Cuba, made after the U.S. abduction of former Venezuelan president and Cuban ally Nicolas Maduro in January.

Diaz-Canel described the pressure campaign as targeting "an entire people in order to appropriate the country."