The U.S. Rejected Accusations of a Naval Blockade of Cuba After a Blackout Hit 10 Million People

US Permanent Representative to the UN Mike Waltz rejected accusations that Washington had imposed a naval blockade on Cuba.

“That is a lie. Period,” he said at a meeting of the UN General Assembly.

The statement came the day after a complete failure of Cuba’s power grid left nearly 10 million people without electricity.

Cuba’s foreign minister had earlier accused the US of an “act of war” over restrictions on fuel supplies. Washington rejected the accusations and blamed Cuba’s authorities for the crisis.

“There is no ring of US Navy ships around this island blocking trade or deliveries of humanitarian aid to Cuba. That is fake. That is not true. That is a lie. Period,” Waltz said from the UN podium.

According to him, the real blockade of the Cuban people has been imposed by their own communist government.

“There is a lot of talk today about an embargo. And yes, it does exist. But it is an embargo that the Cuban regime has ruthlessly imposed on its own people decade after decade,” the diplomat said.

Waltz urged Havana to “change course and restore power to its people.” He said Cuba’s authorities continue to supply electricity to government complexes and propaganda facilities while ordinary families face spoiled food, outages in hospitals, and dead phones.

The US representative also noted that, despite Havana’s claims of total isolation, Cuba receives humanitarian aid from China, Russia, Mexico, Canada, Spain, as well as from the EU and the UN.

According to Waltz, the US itself has provided Cuba with more than $100 million in aid this year and supplies the island with about $500 million worth of goods annually.

“The answer to why Cuba brought this issue to the General Assembly is simple: because blaming the United States is the only economic plan Havana has left,” he said.