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

Venezuela condemns U.S. sanctions against Cuba, urging international solidarity to address humanitarian impacts of oil deprivation.

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.