The Cuban regime issued a direct warning to the United States this Friday amid escalating tensions in the Caribbean, following the deployment of U.S. B-52 bombers off the coast of Venezuela.
In a massive event held in Havana, the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel reaffirmed its alliance with chavismo and declared that “those who mess with Venezuela mess with Cuba”.
According to a report from the Presidencia de Cuba on its official X account (formerly Twitter), more than 50,000 people gathered on Avenida de los Presidentes in Vedado, facing the statue of Simón Bolívar, to express “solidarity with Chávez's homeland” and “reject the militarization of the Caribbean by the U.S. government.”
“Cuba once again hosted solidarity with Venezuela today. It reaffirms a sacred principle: whoever messes with Venezuela, messes with Cuba. We are a single trench, one heart in two nations,” declared the Secretary of Organization of the Communist Party, Roberto Morales Ojeda.
The event was led by Díaz-Canel himself, who presented the Venezuelan leader Pedro Infante, vice president of Organization of the PSUV, with a copy of the “Book of Signatures” in support of Venezuela, signed —according to the government— by more than four million Cubans, including the signature of army general Raúl Castro Ruz.
“ We support Venezuela from here and from every collaborator who is part of the social missions that support its heroic people,” Díaz-Canel stated in his speech, referring to the thousands of Cuban professionals who remain in Venezuelan territory under bilateral programs.
The mobilization occurs at a critical moment for the island, where daily blackouts exceed 20 hours in some provinces and the healthcare system is facing outbreaks of dengue, Oropouche fever, and chikungunya.
Despite the crisis, thousands of employees from the Unión Eléctrica (UNE) were called to march in support of the regime of Nicolás Maduro.
On social media, Cubans expressed outrage at what many consider an absurd political priority in the face of national collapse.
"Why aren't you marching to fix the thermoelectric plants?" wrote a user on the UNE page. Another added: "Cuba is shutting down and you're marching for Maduro. Circus and more circus."
The mass gathering also served as a platform to send a message of support to the government of Caracas following the recent military maneuvers by the United States in the Caribbean. “We reject the warlike offensive of imperialism against the homeland of Bolívar and Chávez,” said Morales Ojeda before the attendees.
Analysts believe that the warning "whoever messes with Venezuela, messes with Cuba" represents an attempt by the regime to rally support from its main strategic ally in Latin America, amid growing international isolation and the internal crisis facing the island.
The Cuban government maintains thousands of doctors, military advisors, technicians, and intelligence officials in Venezuela as part of the bilateral agreements signed since 2000. Havana has relied on subsidized Venezuelan oil for years, while Caracas has received personnel and assistance in social control, political communication, and security in return.
On the same day of the event, the Ministry of Energy and Mines reported that more than a dozen thermoelectric plants were experiencing technical failures or were shut down for maintenance. Provinces such as Granma, Holguín, and Santiago de Cuba reported continuous blackouts lasting up to 22 hours.
"What irony, so much light for a parade and we have no power," commented a resident of Matanzas on social media. "They even have electricity to march."
While the government of Havana promises "solidarity with the Venezuelan people," millions of Cubans continue to survive in darkness, with collapsed hospitals, no access to drinking water, and an increasingly distant hope that power will return to those who truly need it: the citizens.
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