"US Government implements brutal and genocidal policy of tightening the blockade and financial persecution, in addition to obstructing oil shipments to Cuba. Our people resists and triumphs", Bermudez wrote on Twitter.
In 2015, then-US President Barack Obama announced the decision to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba. Obama relaxed the trade embargo and eliminated some restrictions on travel, money transfers and naval regulations.
In 2017, US President Donald Trump reversed the policy of his predecessor and abandoned attempts to normalize relations with Cuba.
Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order to prolong the trade embargo on Cuba for another year.
Shortly after taking office on 20 January 2017, Trump said his administration would review Obama’s policies toward Cuba, with the White House stressing that it would focus on human rights as a fundamental approach to its relations with Havana.