Cuba denounces U.S. sanctions at international meeting in Laos

At the III Review Conference of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Vientiane, Laos, Cuba denounced the United States for its actions against the island. Vilma Thomas, Director of Multilateral Political Affairs at the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that while the U.S. leads global military spending, it simultaneously attempts to portray Cuba as an extraordinary threat to its national security.

Thomas characterized the U.S. position as an absurd pretext used to reinforce unprecedented blockades and impose an ‘inhumane energy siege’ that functions similarly to a naval blockade. She noted that these actions are combined with secondary sanctions and systematic threats of aggression.

Addressing the international context, Thomas criticized the acceleration of the arms race and the development of sophisticated warfare technologies. She reaffirmed Cuba’s commitment to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which the nation has signed since 2016, and expressed firm opposition to the use of such weapons by any actor under any circumstances.