HAVANA, Cuba — Cuba on Monday criticized EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas for a lack of "objectivity" in her comments about the economic and energy crises on the US-blockaded island.
Kallas, the European Union's foreign policy chief, told reporters in Mexico on Thursday that Cuba's current hardship had followed "decades of mismanagement and political repression."
"Cuban people deserve opportunity and freedom, and no more control and isolation," she said.
Washington imposed an energy blockade on Cuba in January as part of its bid to exert maximum pressure on the communist-run island.
The move has worsened living conditions for Cubans, with frequent blackouts and supply shortages becoming a daily reality.
US President Donald Trump has also openly mused about taking over the island.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said Kallas's comment "reveals a marked double standard."
"Failing to acknowledge that the illegal, cruel and unjust collective punishment the US government is imposing on the Cuban people -- with an unprecedented tightening of the blockade, the oil embargo and the military threat -- are the main causes of the difficult situation Cubans are facing today undermines objectivity," he said on X.
Government policy over the last decade had "broad popular consensus" and was part of "internal affairs," he added.
Trump on May 1 issued an executive order that imposed a further wave of sanctions on Cuba and threatened secondary sanctions on the operations of foreign companies there, including several European companies.
Rodriguez asked why Kallas had not voiced "concern or support" for these affected businesses and individuals.
In 2017, the EU and Cuba entered an agreement calling for political dialogue and cooperation.
Washington last week ramped up tensions by indicting former Cuban president Raul Castro in a case dating back to 1996, which Havana warns could serve as a pretext to justify US military intervention on the island.
