Cuba condemns new US sanctions as 'illegal' and 'abusive'

The new measures come on top of a US blockade of oil to Cuba that has caused widespread blackouts and fuel shortages. Cuba condemns new US sanctions as 'illegal' and 'abusive' Watch: Cubans march on May Day in Havana amid fresh US sanctions Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. People march with Cuban flags in Havana on May Day. People hold Cuban flags and pictures of Fidel Castro in a crowd. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez has condemned a new wave of US sanctions on the country as "illegal and abusive". An executive order, signed on Friday by US President Donald Trump, targets officials in the energy, defence, financial or security sectors of Cuba's economy - as well as those he alleges to have committed "human rights abuses" or corruption. It comes as protesters marking International Workers Day marched outside the US Embassy in Havana, denouncing a US blockade of oil to Cuba that has caused widespread blackouts and fuel shortages. marched outside the US Embassy in Havana, denouncing a US blockade of oil to Cuba that has caused widespread blackouts and fuel shortages. Trump continues to tighten US foreign policy towards the island nation and has indicated he wants to change its communist leadership. Trump continues to tighten US foreign policy towards the island nation and has indicated he wants to change its communist leadership. Late on Friday, Trump told an audience in Florida that the US would be "taking over" the Caribbean island, which lies 145km (90 miles) from the US state of Florida, "almost immediately". "On the way back from Iran, we'll have one of our big - maybe the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier - the biggest in the world, we'll have that come in, stop about 100 yards offshore, and they'll say, 'Thank you very much. We give up'." Writing on X, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said the "unilateral coercive measures" violated the United Nations Charter, adding they aimed to impose "collective punishment against the Cuban people". He shared videos from street demonstrations, describing them as "in defence of the Homeland" and added: "Our people do not cower." Trump's latest moves to build pressure on the country's economy come despite Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel confirming in March that Cuba was negotiating with the US over relations between the two countries. Trump's latest moves to build pressure on the country's economy come despite Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel confirming in March that Cuba was over relations between the two countries. "The blockade and its reinforcement cause so much harm because of the intimidating and arrogant behaviour of the world's greatest military power," Díaz-Canel wrote on X following the announcement of the new measures. A US blockade on oil to Cuba has led to fuel shortages and widespread blackouts, impacting hospital wards, public transport and education. Only one Russian oil tanker has reached the country since the blockade was imposed. Trump has also threatened tariffs on goods imported into the US from any country that provides oil to the Caribbean nation. The US and Cuba have had a strained relationship since the communist Fidel Castro overthrew a US-backed government in 1959. US economic and trade embargoes on Cuba have been in place since 1960. This year, Cubans are celebrating 100 years since Castro's birth. A faded mural of Che Guevara on a wall with a man standing nearby in Cuba Trump sets his sights on crisis-hit Cuba after Iran action A group of people play dominoes in a street during a blackout in Havana Millions of Cubans plunged into darkness as fuel crisis deepens A woman looks at her phone on a street in Havana Why Trump means the Cuban Revolution faces its biggest threat yet Gary Cushnie, from East Yorkshire, believes he contracted the disease at a hotel in Havana, Cuba. US President Trump has made clear his desire to change Cuba's leadership and has placed the country under an oil embargo. A Russian oil tanker has docked in Cuba, providing temporary relief after months of shortages. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said the US decision to withdraw 5,000 troops was to be expected. The president writes that hostilities "have terminated" because of the ceasefire, arguing he does not need congressional authorisation. Under the new rules, police will be able to issue tickets directly to the car's manufacturer when an autonomous vehicle breaks a traffic law. The warning comes as President Donald Trump said he was "not excited" by Iran's latest proposal for a peace deal. The decision to reduce the US deployment to Germany comes amid a row between the two allies over Iran.