In a new threat against a sovereign state, US President Donald Trump declared on Sunday that Cuba will no longer receive oil or money from Venezuela. “No more oil or money for Cuba. Zero! I strongly urge you to make a deal before it’s too late,” Trump wrote on social media.In his statement, he affirmed: “Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of oil and money from Venezuela. In return, Cuba provided ‘security services’ for the last two Venezuelan dictators, but not anymore!”The US ruler added that “most of those Cubans are dead from last week’s US attack, and Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years,” and, in an attempt to make his US followers believe that the US is in control of Venezuela, claimed the US will “protect” Venezuela.Quienes culpan a la Revolución de las severas carencias económicas que padecemos, deberían callar por vergüenza. Porque saben y lo reconocen, que son fruto de las draconianas medidas de asfixia extrema que EE.UU nos aplica hace seis décadas y amenaza con superar ahora.— Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (@DiazCanelB) January 11, 2026Cuban responseIn response to Trump’s threats against Havana, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel recalled Sunday that his country “has been attacked by the US for 66 years.”“Cuba is a free, independent, and sovereign nation. Nobody dictates what we do. Cuba does not attack; it has been attacked by the US for 66 years, and it does not threaten; it prepares, it is ready to defend the homeland to the last drop of blood,” the president stated.On social media, the Cuban president stated that the US regime “has no moral authority to point the finger at Cuba in anything, absolutely anything, since they turn everything into a business, even human lives.” He added that “those who are now hysterically venting their anger against our nation are sick with rage at the sovereign decision of this people to choose their political model.”“Those who blame the Revolution for the severe economic hardships we suffer [today] should be silent out of shame. Because they know and acknowledge that these hardships are the result of draconian measures of extreme strangulation that the US has been applying to us for six decades and threatens to surpass now,” he emphasized.Criminal and uncontrolled hegemonCuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez also responded, emphasizing that the US “behaves like a criminal and uncontrolled hegemon that threatens peace and security, not only in Cuba and this hemisphere, but throughout the world.”Cuba does not receive and has never received monetary or material compensation for security services provided to any country.“Unlike the US, we do not have a government that lends itself to mercenary activity, blackmail, or military coercion against other states. Like every country, Cuba has the absolute right to import fuel from those markets willing to export it and that exercise their own right to develop their commercial relations without interference or subordination to the unilateral coercive measures of the US,” he addedFollowing the US military aggression against Venezuela on January 3, which culminated in the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro, Donald Trump has made statements threatening to increase pressure on Cuba. The president stated on January 10 that “going in and destroying” Cuba might be the only option left to force “change.”Statement from VenezuelaThrough a statement published Sunday by Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yván Gil on social media, Venezuela reaffirmed its historical brotherhood with Cuba based on solidarity and cooperation.Venezuela claimed that international relations must be governed by the principles of self-determination, international law, and national sovereignty.The full unofficial translation of the statement follows:The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela reaffirms its historical position within the framework of relations with the Republic of Cuba, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and international law, regarding the free exercise of self-determination and national sovereignty.The relationship of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela with the Caribbean and the Republic of Cuba has historically been based on brotherhood, solidarity, cooperation, and complementarity.Venezuela reaffirms that international relations must be governed by the principles of international law, non-intervention, the sovereign equality of states, and the self-determination of peoples. We reiterate that political and diplomatic dialogue is the only way to peacefully resolve disputes of any nature.A six-decade blockadeIn October 1960, the US established an embargo against Cuba. Subsequently, in 1962, President John F. Kennedy drastically tightened the measures, imposing a near-total trade blockade that profoundly impacted the Cuban economy.The Dark Time of the LeviathansInitially conceived as a temporary action to obtain compensation, the embargo has not only been maintained for six decades under 12 different US rulers, but has also been reinforced with successive illegal sanctions.The Cuban government indicated that at current prices the accumulated damages over more than six decades of application of this policy amount to $170,677.2 million.Currently, virtually every country in the world condemns the US blockade. Likewise, the UN General Assembly has spoken out against these policies on dozens of occasions. Traditionally, the US and Israel vote against ending the blockade. (Alba Ciudad) with Orinoco Tribune contentTranslation: Orinoco TribuneOT/JRE/JB