Johann Wadephul stated this Sunday that he does not believe a U.S. blockade exists against the Island.
14ymedio/EFE, Berlin, June 22, 2026 – German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul stated this Sunday that he does not see a U.S. blockade against Cuba and that the requirement for Cubans to enjoy greater well-being is for them to be governed better.
An “unjust regime” prevails in Cuba, Wadephul said during a dialogue with citizens as part of the government’s open house events, which he cited as an example of how a democratic society functions, where “everyone can express their opinion without fearing harassment afterward.”
“That would be the first thing I would say, as the German Government, about Cuba,” he said in response to a citizen’s question.
The conservative minister explained that Cuba in the past “benefited greatly” from economic ties and oil imports from Venezuela, a situation that no longer exists “by decision of the Venezuelan government.”
For the Island’s population to live better, the “decisive prerequisite” would be for the country to be “governed better,” he indicated. “I do not see a blockade of the kind you describe,” he told his interlocutor.
Wadephul expressed the hope that the Cuban people can enjoy a better future and stated that Germany contributes toward that goal “through active assistance measures.”
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla denounced on Saturday that the United States is imposing a “total blockade” on the country through a “plan of economic strangulation” that includes preventing foreign companies from selling parts and technology for Cuban thermoelectric plants and preventing any company in the world from selling oil to the Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order on May 1 threatening sanctions against foreign entities operating in Cuba’s energy, defense, mining, and financial services sectors, in addition to the oil restrictions imposed in January, which have prolonged the blackouts that citizens had already been experiencing for several years throughout the country.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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