On Saturday, during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla delivered a speech condemning the U.S. economic embargo as a sustained and severe form of economic warfare against his nation. n nSpeaking at the UN headquarters, Rodriguez stated that for over six decades, Cuba has endured the cumulative and damaging effects of a hostile policy designed to economically suffocate the island. He described the blockade as having reached extreme levels, characterizing it as a prolonged campaign intended to undermine the livelihoods and very survival of the Cuban people. n nIn recent years, particularly over the past eight, the measures have intensified with increasingly precise and extraterritorial enforcement mechanisms targeting third-party nations and businesses. These actions, he explained, create significant barriers in production, trade, finance, and access to essential services, undermining social equity and basic living standards. n nCuba currently faces persistent power outages, food insecurity, medicine shortages, deteriorating public transport, and high inflation that erodes purchasing power, the minister noted. n nRodriguez dismissed the U.S. designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism as a baseless accusation made for political and economic coercion. He emphasized that neither the UN nor its member states recognize this label, which he said is used to intimidate foreign banks and commercial institutions into avoiding engagement with Cuban entities, including blocking credit and financial transfers. n nHe reaffirmed Cuba’s identity as a peaceful nation committed to international cooperation. n nIn response to U.S. actions, including visa restrictions targeting officials linked to Cuba’s overseas medical missions, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning reiterated support on August 22. She highlighted that over the past six decades, Cuba has deployed more than 600,000 healthcare workers to over 60 countries, providing medical care to over 230 million people, conducting 17 million surgeries, and saving more than 12 million lives. n nMao stated that Cuba’s medical collaborations are vital to health systems across Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa, and are widely welcomed by local populations and governments. She criticized the U.S. claim of “forced labor” as a fabricated justification for maintaining its long-standing, widely criticized sanctions regime. n
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US blockade is an overwhelming and prolonged economic war: Cuban FM at UN address
Cuba ‘s Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Saturday, September 27, 2025, at UN headquarters. Photo: VCG n nOn Saturday, local time, Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, speaking during the general debate of the 80th United Nations General Assembly stated that the US blockade against Cuba subjects the country to an “overwhelming and prolonged economic war.” n nAccording to the Cuban FM ‘s statement at the general debate, which has been published on the UN website, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla stated that Cuba is suffering the devastating and cumulative impact of the policy of hostility and economic suffocation imposed by the US for more than six decades. n nThe Cuban FM said that the blockade against Cuba persists and has been tightened to the extremes. “It is an overwhelming and prolonged economic war aimed at depriving Cubans of their livelihoods and sustainability, of their existence as a fraternal and joyful people,” he stated. n nAccording to the Cuban FM, this has escalated to unprecedented levels in the last 8 years and has included increasingly elaborate, surgical and extraterritorial actions of persecution and economic pressure against third parties. “It imposes multiple and extraordinary impediments on production, trade and finances as well as the services and policies that guarantee social justice and life itself,” Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla stated. n nCuba today faces an unprecedented situation of prolonged and daily power outages, difficulties in affording food, insufficient availability of medicines, depressed public transportation, limitations on community services and steep inflation that depresses real incomes, said Cuban foreign minister. n nAlso, the Cuban foreign minister noted that “It is cynical that the United States government labels Cuba as a State sponsor of terrorism following political and economic coercion purposes.” He emphasized this is a slander that neither the UN nor any of its member states share. n nHe added that many national institutions, both banking and financial and commercial, in many countries, are subject to intimidation by this fallacious designation by the US government. “Because of this classification, foreign governments and institutions avoid engaging with Cuban entities, offering credit, supporting the country ‘s commercial activity or channeling our transfers,” he stated. n nHe emphasized that Cuba is a nation of peace. n nOn August 22, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated at a regular press conference that China urges the US to immediately stop the blockade and sanctions on Cuba in any name and do more things that help improve relations with Cuba and promote regional peace and stability. n nThe comments were responding to a reporter ‘s question regarding a recent media report that the US State Department announced visa restrictions on officials and their family members from African countries, Brazil, Cuba, Grenada, and former officials and their family members of Pan American Health Organization involved in the Cuban government ‘s overseas medical missions. It stated that the US is committed to ending Cuba ‘s overseas medical missions as an exploitative behavior of “forced labor,” warning countries cooperating with Cuba to “think twice.” n nSpokesperson Mao Ning told the daily news briefing that according to statistics of the government of Cuba, during the past 60-plus years, Cuba sent over 600,000 medical personnel to over 60 countries, provided medical services for over 230 million people and performed over 17 million operations and surgeries, which saved the lives of more than 12 million people. n nCuba ‘s overseas medical cooperation plays an important role in the health systems of Latin American and Caribbean countries as well as African countries, and is welcomed by the governments and peoples of the relevant countries, Mao said. n nShe said the so-called “forced labor” has become a false pretext and tool of hegemony for the US to suppress other countries, and relevant measures of the US is an extension and escalation of its over 60 years of unpopular sanctions and blockade on Cuba. n nGlobal Times