Harare, December 13, 2025 - Zimbabwe's main television network, ZBC, broadcast today the statement from the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemning the United States' act of piracy in the Caribbean and the intensification of the economic war against the island.
The Cuban government has accused the United States of intensifying economic warfare against the island following the interception of an oil tanker by US military forces in the Caribbean Sea.
In a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cuba said the incident occurred on December 10, 2025, when US forces boarded an oil tanker sailing in international waters off the coast of Venezuela. Havana described the action as an act of piracy and maritime terrorism.
Cuba said the interception constitutes a serious violation of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation. Cuba said the US government bears responsibility for what it termed crimes that harm the international community as a whole.
“On December 10, 2025, US military forces rapelled onto an oil tanker while it sailed in international waters in the Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coasts. This act of piracy and maritime terrorism is a serious violation of International Law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation. The US government is responsible for the commission of these crimes, which are harmful to the international community as a whole,” read the statement in part.
The Cuban authorities said the incident forms part of a broader escalation by Washington aimed at obstructing Venezuela’s right to freely exploit and trade its anatural resources, including the supply of hydrocarbons to Cuba.
“This action is part of the US escalation aimed at hampering Venezuela’s legitimate right to freely use and trade its natural resources with other nations, including the supplies of hydrocarbons to Cuba.”
The ministry noted that similar measures were introduced during former US president Donald Trump’s first term, when sanctions and enforcement actions were imposed to hinder the export of Venezuelan oil. It said vessels transporting fuel to Cuba were subjected to persistent surveillance and harassment, a situation that has now worsened with what it described as the use of military force.
“During the first mandate of Donald Trump, several measures were adopted to hinder the free trade of Venezuela’s oil resources, and the vessels carrying fuel to our country were subject to persecution.
This situation persists and has been worsened now with the use of military force in an attempt to impose the US domain on Our America. These actions have a negative effect on Cuba and further tighten the US maximum pressure and economic suffocation policy, which has a direct impact on Cuba’s national power system and, consequently, on the everyday life of our people.”
Cuba further described the incident as an application of what it termed the Trump-era corollary of the Monroe Doctrine, arguing that it violates the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.
Cuba called for universal condemnation of the US action, urging the international community to oppose what it described as an attempt to impose unilateral domination in the region.