Islam Times - Cuba Blasts Trump over Double Standards, Sanctions

Islam Times - Cuba has blasted US President Donald Trump’s decision Friday to roll back previous administration's policy of rapprochement and imposing new restrictions on Cuba using the pretext of human rights concerns, calling it a case of double standards.

Earlier on Friday, the US president pledged to overhaul his predecessor Barack Obama's Cuba policy.

Dismantling his predecessor’s legacy on Cuba, Trump labelled it a “terrible, misguided” and “completely one-sided” deal and pledged to keep all US sanctions imposed on Cuba in place until it frees all political prisoners, guarantees civil freedoms and holds “internationally supervised” elections.

The Cuban government dismissed the allegations, arguing that the Cuban citizens already “enjoy fundamental rights and freedoms,” and said that it “rejects… double standards in the treatment of human rights” showcased by Washington .

The Havana government led by Raul Castro issued an official statement criticizing Trump's "hostile rhetoric" in announcing new restrictions on US ties to the country.

"The government of Cuba denounces the new measures toughening the embargo" imposed since 1962, according to a statement read on Cuban state television.

“The United States is not in a position to give us lessons. We have serious concerns about the respect and guarantees of human rights in that country, where there are numerous cases of murders, brutality and police abuses, particularly against the African American population,” the Cuban government said in a statement also published by the Communist Party's official Granma newspaper.

It went on to note that Washington’s record of encroachment on human rights stretches well beyond its borders. For instance, at its naval base on the “illegally occupied” Guantanamo Bay, the US subjected “dozens of prisoners” to torture and arbitrary detention, it said. The Cuban authorities also reminded Washington of “dire consequences for the peace, security and stability” in the Middle East of its invasion into Iraq under the false pretext and called it out for inflicting mass civilian casualties by carrying pit indiscriminate bombings and drone strikes.

The restrictions on travel and finance, designed to strengthen the economic blockade of Cuba, “are doomed to fail, as it was the case in the past,” the Cuban government said, adding that the island nation has successfully resisted “aggression” by the US for decades.

Former US President Barack Obama’s visit to Cuba in 2014 led to restoring of diplomatic relations that had been severed for over 50 years.