Venezuela slams US 'punitive' measures against ally Cuba

Venezuela, whose president was recently toppled in a US military operation, on Friday slammed Washington's "punitive measures" against its struggling ally Cuba, after threats of tariffs on countries giving it oil.

A tariff order signed by US President Donald Trump on Thursday amounted to "punitive measures on countries that decide to maintain legitimate trade relations with the Republic of Cuba," the foreign ministry in Caracas said.

It vowed "solidarity with the Cuban people" deprived of Venezuelan oil now under US control, and urged "collective action by the international community to address the humanitarian consequences stemming from aggressions of this nature."