As tensions between the United States and Cuba continue to rise, Cuba’s foreign minister, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, tells MS NOW that a war between the two countries would provoke a “humanitarian catastrophe” that could lead to the deaths of thousands.
“If Cuba were attacked, it would have to defend itself,” Rodriguez told Antonia Hylton on Wednesday. “It would lead to bloodbath — the death of thousands of Cubans, and also the deaths of young Americans.”
During a sit-down interview with Hylton, conducted in Spanish and translated into English by MS NOW, Rodriguez said the Trump administration’s decision in January to effectively cut off the country’s fuel supply has had “increasingly severe consequences” for the Cuban people, causing blackouts and shortages of food and medical supplies.
“The Cuban people are suffering a kind of collective punishment,” he said. “They are subjected to conditions that violate their human rights and cause pain, suffering, and anguish to Cuban families.”
“The worst part is that these consequences are not some kind of collateral damage, as the U.S. government often claims, but rather the result of a deliberate design to provoke suffering among the Cuban population,” Rodriguez added.
The situation between the two longtime adversaries escalated earlier this month when the U.S. announced that a grand jury had indicted 94-year-old former Cuban President Raúl Castro on murder charges related to the 1996 downing of two small planes.
Rodriguez called the charges “politically motivated and illegal,” adding it was “extraordinary that this is happening 30 years after those events,” which he described as “an act of legitimate self-defense by the Cuban state after 25 violations of its airspace.”
“They are doing this to manipulate American public opinion and justify two barbaric and brutal acts: the military threat and the energy blockade against Cuba,” he said.
The foreign minister told Hylton there was “no progress in bilateral talks” between Cuba and the United States.
“There is great inconsistency and irresponsibility on the U.S. side,” he said. “Their conduct during conversations is one thing, but their constant public statements by official figures are hostile.”
Rodriguez singled out Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whom he said “lies consistently” and “seems very poorly informed.”








