Cuban President accuses US of killing people, wants to take over | Business and Financial Issues

The island has been fighting the US oil embargo since January and is enduring its own economic crisis.

Cuba’s president has accused the United States of committing “genocide” and trying to take over the Caribbean island nation.

President Miguel Diaz-Canel lashed out at a rally on Sunday commemorating the start of the Cuban Revolution in 1953. His anger was fueled by Washington’s continued pressure, which includes a crippling oil embargo that has led to frequent blackouts and economic problems.

“I deny that Cuba is the victim of a terrible destruction,” Diaz-Canel said in Pinar del Rio during a ceremony marking the 73rd anniversary of the coup of former dictator Fulgencio Batista.

US relations with the communist-ruled island have long been strained, but have become increasingly strained under US President Donald Trump.

Washington passed the law oil embargo in Cuba on January 29, causing daily blackouts of more than 20 hours.

The US, Diaz-Canel said on Sunday, suffered “economic collapse” due to his actions.

Employers are being forced to cut working days, industrial production has stopped, and water and medicine shortages are hitting a country already suffering from previous US sanctions and economic reforms that caused inflation.

Payment companies Visa and Mastercard, Spanish hotels Melia, and Air Canada and Air France have all pulled out of the country in the wake of the crisis.

“Cuba today is waging a common war…against the wall of genocidal policies that aim to weaken the entire population in order to complete the country,” Diaz-Canel said.

Trump said he would “occupy” Cuba, following the US capture of former Venezuelan President and Cuban ally Nicolas Maduro in January.

Last week, a US State Department report accused the Cuban government of espionage and lobbying of Washington’s neighbors and Latin America.

In May, the United States charged former president and rebel leader Raul Castro – Fidel’s brother – with murder and other charges for his involvement in the downing of two civilian planes piloted by exiles from Miami off the coast of Cuba in 1996.

The Cuban government has denied the allegations and criticized Trump’s comments. Negotiations between the two countries have been held they were mostly suspendedCuban officials said in June.

The Cuban Revolution, led by brothers and later leaders Fidel and Raul Castro, culminated in the fall of the Batista regime in 1959. Former President Raul, 95, was unusually absent from Sunday’s meeting.