HAVANA, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez on Thursday slammed Washington's newly adopted measures against the island, saying they will "suffocate" the country's economy.
On April 17, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that a 22-year suspension of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act will be lifted on May 2, which allows U.S. citizens to file suits against foreign firms operating property in Cuba since 1959.
"Cuba strongly rejects the new move of Washington, and we will expand our ties with all sectors of the U.S. society in response," said Rodriguez in a press conference.
"The waiver of Title III of the Helms Burton Act will have a financial impact, harm Cuban entities and make difficulties for our people," he said.
Also, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton told Cuban exiles in Miami that the Trump administration will put a cap on remittances to the Caribbean nation and the new limit will be 1,000 U.S. dollars per person per quarter.
The senior official added the Treasury Department would also implement further regulatory changes to restrict U.S. citizens' non-family travel to Cuba, a move that could affect U.S. cruise companies and airlines that operate on the island.
"Cuban families shouldn't be hostages of the political struggle between Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Our country shouldn't be an object of internal policies between one party or the other," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said Havana will also continue to strengthen its ties with Cuban communities residing in the United States despite the recent measures which will definitely have an impact.
The Cuban diplomat said Washington sent instructions to its embassies worldwide to publicly condemn Cuba's support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, calling on all U.S. diplomatic staff to use "political and economic tools" at their disposal against Cuba.
Washington's "maneuvers" have the obvious purpose of punishing Havana for its support of Maduro, whom the White House is openly seeking to oust from power, the foreign minister said.
The State Department made up false allegations against Cuba of deploying special force units on the borders of Colombia and Venezuela to hold military drills. "I invite them to present evidence of such," the foreign minister said.
"Cuba does not have troops nor military forces nor does it participate in military or security operations in Venezuela," said Rodriguez.
U.S.-Cuban relations have plummeted since Trump became president, partially rolling back the detente initiated by his predecessor Barack Obama, while maintaining re-established diplomatic ties.
