Havana, May 5 (RHC) — Cuba's Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, criticized U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on alleged human rights violations on the island.

In a pre-recorded statement to a conference on Latin America on Tuesday, Blinken said the Biden administration would continue criticizing "the repression of human rights in Cuba."

On Twitter, Rodriguez Parrilla stated: "If Sec Blinken were interested in the human rights of Cubans, he would lift the economic blockade and the 243 measures applied by the former U.S. administration, which are still in force today amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. He would re-establish consular services and family reunion."

On the same social media platform, users issued other calls for the elimination of Cuba's fraudulent designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, which compromises U.S. credibility.

Likewise, the U.S. Secretary of State was reminded that before having any right, the leading right of a human being is the right to live, an essential guarantee Cubans see undermined due to the impact of the U.S. blockade on their livelihoods and access to food and medicine.