Ambassador Carlos de Cespedes says US pressure ‘will not subjugate’ Cuba as Venezuelan oil exports to island dry out.A Cuban diplomat has accused the United States of “international piracy”, as Washington continues to block Venezuelan oil from reaching the Caribbean island in the wake of the US military attack on the nation and abduction of President Nicolas Maduro.Carlos de Cespedes, Cuba’s ambassador to Colombia, told Al Jazeera on Saturday that the US is imposing a “marine siege” on the country.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list“Cuba is facing more powerful US threats than it has in the 67 years since the revolution,” de Cespedes said, referring to decades of punishing sanctions and military threats.“The US is carrying out international piracy in the Caribbean Sea that is restricting and blocking the arrival of oil to Cuba.”Since US forces abducted Venezuela’s Maduro earlier this month, the flow of oil from the country to Cuba has all but come to a halt.Venezuela has been the main oil supplier to Cuba in recent decades.US President Donald Trump said earlier this month that there would be “zero” Venezuelan oil headed to Cuba now that Washington is exerting its influence over Caracas under the threat of further military strikes.The US has also been intercepting and seizing Venezuelan oil tankers in the Caribbean – a move that critics say amounts to piracy.“Cuba is ready to fall,” Trump projected on January 5. “Cuba now has no income. They got all of their income from Venezuela, from the Venezuelan oil. They’re not getting any of it. Cuba literally is ready to fall.”However, Cuba has continued to import oil from other sources, including Mexico. Advertis …
