Rolling blackouts have been a frequent occurrence since the Trump administration cut off Cuba’s main oil supply after it invaded Venezuela in January, followed by a threat to impose tariffs on any country that supplied Cuba with energy. Rubio insisted that the blackouts are “not due to an oil ‘blockade’ by the US” and said that Cubans know “better than anyone” that the island has suffered from energy shortages “for years.”

The secretary of state didn’t mention the embargo the US has imposed on Cuba for more than six decades, exacerbating the country’s struggles with its power infrastructure.