‘External interference’: China criticises Trump’s tariff threat on ‘any country selling oil to Cuba’

“China stands firmly against moves that deprive the Cuban people of their rights,” Guo added.

China was reacting to the executive order signed by US President Donald Trump on Thursday, imposing a tariff on any goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba.

The order would primarily put pressure on Mexico, a government that has acted as an oil lifeline for Cuba and has constantly voiced solidarity with the government in Havana.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez and a number of other Cuban officials condemned Trump’s executive order. Rodríguez called it a “brutal act of aggression against Cuba and its people … who are now threatened with being subjected to extreme living conditions.”

He accused the US of resorting to “blackmail and coercion to try to force other countries to join its universally condemned blockade policy against Cuba.”

For decades, Cuba, under Fidel Castro and his brother, Raúl Castro, was almost entirely dependent  on Venezuelan oil to keep the lights on. In exchange, Cuba sent thousands of doctors, nurses, and medical technicians to staff Venezuela. Cuban teachers and sports trainers were sent to Venezuela to support social and educational programs. Cuba also provided military and intelligence advisors and personal security guards to Maduro. At least 32 Cuban soldiers were killed earlier this month during the US operation that captured Maduro.

With Maduro gone, and the US taking total control of the Venezuelan oil, Cuba is facing a deepening energy crisis.

Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is of Cuban descent, had told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Washington would “like to see regime change in Cuba.”

Following the US capture of Maduro, Rubio had warned Cuban leaders that they should be “concerned.”