“They resort to an infamous retric to slander a heroic island that suffers a criminal blockade imposed by the US government, causing enormous damage to the Cuban people,” Daz-Canel said in a message posted on Twitter in Spanish and English.
In its annual report on human rights, published on Tuesday, the US State Department deplored the continuing “restrictions” on freedom of expression in Cuba, and stated that in this “authoritative” state there are reports of extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances and cases of torture.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodrguez called the report “deceptive and politicized”, recalling the “indicators of social justice, respect and protection of human rights” of his population, of which Cuba, under the United States embargo since 1962, is proud.
“If the US government were interested in defending human rights in Cuba, it would end the blockade and the more than 240 (Donald) Trump measures that threaten the well-being and livelihood of 11 million Cubans,” added Rodrguez, who wrote his text in both languages.
With the arrival of Trump White House in 2017, Washington reinforced the embargo, alleging human rights violations in Cuba and Havana’s support for Nicols Maduro’s socialist government in Venezuela.
The hope that tensions would ease with the election of Joe Biden vanished as the island does not appear to be a priority issue for the new American government.
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