Cuba: U.S. violated Vienna Conventions

HAVANA — Cuba’s foreign minister on Tuesday accused the United States of violating the Vienna Convention and the deal re-establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Soon after, the United States announced a new sanction on Cuba meant to cut off the island’s supply of petroleum from Venezuela.

In two tweets, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said unspecified “illegal actions” by the U.S. Embassy in Havana violated both the international codes of conduct for diplomats and the agreement to reopen embassies in Washington and Havana in 2015.

“Illegal actions by #US embassy in #Cuba are interference in the internal affairs of the country and are intended to attack our constitutional order,” Rodriguez tweeted. “They violate the Vienna Convention, the agreement for the re-establishment of relations and Cuban and US laws.”

The U.S. Treasury said it was designating the Cuban company Corporacion Panamericana S.A. as a violator of American sanctions on Venezuela. Such designations make it difficult for companies to do business due to third parties’ fears of repercussions for dealing with a sanctioned entity.

The Treasury Department said that after the U.S. sanctioned the stateowned oil importer Cuba-metales, Cuba moved employees and contracts over to Panamericana, which was not yet sanctioned.

The announcement comes amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Cuba over Washington’s steadily increasing pressure on the communist government.

The U.S. has prohibited cruise travel to Cuba, U.S. flights to cities outside Havana and support for Venezuela oil shipments to the island. The Trump administration says it hopes to cripple the Cuban government’s ability to support Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.