HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — The United States (US) should lift its blockade on Cuba rather than offer aid to the island, President Miguel Diaz-Canel said Thursday.

“The damage could be eased in a much simpler and faster way by lifting or relaxing the blockade, since it is known that the humanitarian situation is coldly calculated and induced,” Diaz-Canel said, referring to a worsening economic crisis in Cuba, under a US-imposed fuel blockade since January.

His comments followed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s renewed offer of $100 million in aid to Cuba on the condition that the assistance be distributed by the Catholic Church, bypassing the government.