Havana, December 20 (RHC)-- The Cuban Foreign Ministry denounced on Thursday the tightening and the extraterritorial nature of the over-50-year US economic, commercial and financial blockade of the island, which has been condemned by the overwhelming majority of the international community.

A statement by the Foreign Ministry posted on Granma newspaper recalled that on December 11, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) under the US Department of State announced a 375-million-dollar fine against the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.

The punishment of the London-based financial entity was justified with the alleged violation of US unilateral sanctions against several countries, including Cuba, the statement explained.

Also on December 12, the State Department office, which is in charge of enforcing the US blockade of Cuba, announced the imposition of a fine against Japan’s Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ bank amounting to 8 million 571 thousand 634 dollars for similar reasons.

The Foreign Ministry’s statement alerts that the application of such unfair and illegal measure proves that the US persecution of financial commercial transactions of Cuba and those companies, who maintain a legitimate relation with the island in tune with International Law, has not only kept the same, but it has been reinforced.

The Cuban Foreign Ministry also denounced the extraterritorial measures against third parties, just one month after the UN General Assembly demanded, once again and by overwhelming majority, the end of the cruel policy, which has been rejected at the world level, particularly by large sectors of US society in an increasing manner.

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