Venezuela, Cuba slam 'worst aggression in 200 yrs' US sanctions on Caracas

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza on Saturday blasted Washington's new sanctions, saying "today's financial sanctions are the worst aggression towards Venezuela in the last 200 years."

Cuba supported Venezuela and outrightly rejected new economic and financial sanctions imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on Venezuela amid heightened tensions between Caracas and Washington.

The U.S. is trying to promote a humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, Arreaza said, adding: "We will protect our people and our democracy with all means we have."

Caracas has blasted Washington's new sanctions against Venezuela, following the latest round of restrictions that the Trump administration imposed on the oil-rich country, targeting its energy sector.

Havana condemns these new "unilateral and arbitrary" measures against Venezuela, Xinhua quoted deputy foreign minister Abelardo Moreno as saying.

"Cuba rejects these unjust and illegal sanctions which violate international law against Venezuela and the government led by President Nicolas Maduro," said the statement.The statement, published on the foreign ministry website, added that it's "imperative" to defend the declaration of Latin America and the Caribbean as a peace zone signed by all heads of state of the region in 2014.

"Our continent can't forget its own history, we must defend the principles and commitment of that declaration," added the statement.

On Friday, the Trump administration issued an order prohibiting Americans from dealings in new debt and equity issued by the Venezuelan government and by its state oil company, PDVSA.

The White House said that the measures "are carefully calibrated to deny the Maduro dictatorship a critical source of financing to maintain its illegitimate rule."

"We don't agree with anything that Maduro is doing," US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said on Friday, calling Venezuela's recently elected Constituent Assembly a "sham.