Venezuela slams U.S. ‘punitive’ measures against ally Cuba

Venezuela, whose President was recently toppled in a U.S. military operation, on Friday (January 30, 2026) slammed Washington’s “punitive measures” against its struggling ally Cuba, after threats of tariffs on countries giving it oil.

A tariff order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday (January 29, 2026) amounted to “punitive measures on countries that decide to maintain legitimate trade relations with the Republic of Cuba,” the Foreign Ministry in Caracas said.

It vowed “solidarity with the Cuban people” deprived of Venezuelan oil now under U.S. control, and urged “collective action by the international community to address the humanitarian consequences stemming from aggressions of this nature.”

“Venezuela expresses its solidarity with the people of Cuba and calls for collective action by the international community to address the humanitarian consequences arising from aggressions of this nature,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

For its part, China said it “stands firmly against moves that deprive the Cuban people of their rights to subsistence and development and inhumane practices,” according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel denounced attempts by a “fascist, criminal and genocidal” U.S. cabal to “suffocate” Cuba.

Cuban is facing its most serious economic crisis since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, its principal benefactor. Until recently, the Cuban economy spluttered by on cheap supplies of Venezuelan oil. But these have dried up since U.S. special forces swooped into Caracas and deposed that country’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, on January 3.

Mr. Trump and his Cuban-American Secretary of State Marco Rubio have made no secret about their desire to bring regime change in Havana.

After the fall of Mr. Maduro, Mr. Trump warned Havana to “make a deal soon” or face unspecified consequences. “NO MORE OIL OR MONEY FOR CUBA: ZERO!” he stated, claiming Cuba was “ready to fall.”