US Weighs New Limits on Cuban Officials at UN as Havana Decries 'Oil Siege'

The United States is weighing fresh restrictions on Cuban officials travelling to the United Nations, even as a large Cuban delegation was cleared to attend this week's General Assembly gathering in New York.

According to US officials and an internal document, the State Department is considering "strict controls" on the Cuban representatives expected to return next month for the annual UN vote on the decades-old American economic embargo on the island. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, saying the details of any restrictions have not been finalised.

Cuban officials already operate under tight constraints in the United States because of Washington's designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism. Their travel and commuting are limited to a 25-mile radius around UN headquarters in Manhattan. Additional curbs could complicate or prevent their attendance at a vote that has been held for more than three decades.

The deliberations come amid a sharp deterioration in relations. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said negotiations between Havana and Washington had shown a "lack of progress" and condemned the oil blockade imposed by the Trump administration in January.

"What defines the present status of the Cuba-US relations is the brutal tightening of the economic and financial blockade and the total oil siege imposed on our country, which is equivalent to a naval blockade," Rodríguez said in an interview on the sidelines of the General Assembly.

His remarks followed President Donald Trump's address to the world body on Tuesday, in which he again described Cuba as a "failed state" and said he was seeking fundamental change on the island. "Communism will never be coming to America, but freedom will be coming to Cuba," Trump said.

Rodríguez, foreign minister since 2009, said no meetings with US officials are currently scheduled but that Cuba remains willing to keep channels of contact open. He declined to say when the last talks took place, describing past conversations as respectful while criticising subsequent US public statements and policy decisions as extremely aggressive.

The energy measures have cut off fuel supplies needed to run Cuba's thermoelectric plants and to maintain ageing infrastructure. Millions have lost access to electricity, with the national grid collapsing at least six times since the blockade began at the start of the year. Other US steps include additional economic penalties and broader enforcement of rules barring Americans who visit the island from dealings with government-owned or affiliated businesses.

Rodríguez said such measures hinder processes that could lead to discussion of matters of common interest. Havana has recently introduced historic economic reforms opening the island to the private sector, which officials say are not concessions to Washington but move in a direction the US administration favours.

Last year, Washington's isolation on the embargo issue eased somewhat as countries including Argentina, Ukraine and Hungary rejected the Cuban-backed resolution. General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding but reflect world opinion. Rodríguez has previously said the US mounted a pressure campaign to influence the vote, a charge a State Department spokesperson rejected last year, saying the Cuban regime did not deserve the backing of America's democratic allies.