maintains that its economic restrictions aim to pressure the Cuban government into opening its political system.
In response to the growing humanitarian crisis, Cuban officials have strongly condemned the embargo.
"What is happening today against our people is a genocide," said Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment.
Pérez-Oliva told CNN that recent economic reforms passed by the National Assembly were intended to open the economy but were not a reaction to external pressure.
Conversely, a U. S.
State Department spokesperson dismissed the legislative measures as "modest, long overdue and ultimately superficial smoke signals."
The blackout follows recent diplomatic discussions between the two nations, which included meetings between CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Cuban intelligence chiefs in Havana, alongside talks between the U.
S. Southern Command and Cuban military officials near Guantanamo Bay.
The U. S.
>>> PEPE Crypto Volatility Driven by Macro and Sector Pressures
has accused Cuba of hosting Russian and Chinese intelligence outposts, a claim that Cuban authorities deny.
