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The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, once again lashed out at the United States in a message on his X account, amid rising tensions between Havana and Washington due to the recent actions of the U.S. administration concerning Venezuela.
Rodríguez Parrilla accused the United States of promoting an "international order based on force and military power," which, in his words, recalls "the worst years of dispossession through war."
In his view, that policy would entail a violation of norms and principles of International Law that emerged after centuries of barbarism.
According to the head of Cuban diplomacy, the United States risks "the lives of thousands of low-income American youths who would enlist in the armed forces and be sent to fight anywhere on the planet."
The chancellor also criticized what he described as a waste of billions of dollars on wars and military operations, which he stated went against the electoral promises of the U.S. administration.
Rodríguez Parrilla's words reflect a traditional narrative of the Cuban government that seeks to present the United States as a global aggressor that exploits vulnerable youth for its geopolitical interests.
However, the message was met with skepticism and criticism on social media by many Cubans, who believe it is disconnected from the internal reality of the Island and the everyday issues faced by its own youth and citizens.
The statement from the Cuban leader refers to a tweet from U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who advocated for a strong stance from the United States following recent seizures of oil tankers from Venezuela.
"The United States continues to enforce the blockade against all ships in the dark fleet that illegally transport Venezuelan oil to finance illicit activities, robbing the Venezuelan people," he said.
Hegseth emphasized that only legitimate and legal energy trade determined by Washington will be allowed.
For his part, the Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío came out to support and radicalize Bruno Rodríguez's narrative in a tweet where he positioned the U.S. as the absolute historical enemy, comparable to Hitler, and legitimizing any kind of "patriotic" response against it.
"Against Hitler, it was the patriotic response of the peoples and their respective governments, where it existed, such as in the USSR, that dealt the defeat to Nazi-fascism and saved Europe and the rest of the world from the scenario that the US is trying to impose on the world today," he wrote.
The statement from Rodríguez Parrilla and De Cossío comes in a context of heightened tension between Havana and Washington, following the remarks made by U.S. President Donald Trump after the capture of Nicolás Maduro in Caracas.
Trump asserted that "Cuba is ready to fall," arguing that the Cuban regime has lost its main economic support with the collapse of Venezuelan oil flow, and that the downfall of the Island's government "seems inevitable."
In response to those statements, the Cuban Foreign Minister directly accused Trump of "showing total ignorance about Cuba" and of repeating "the agenda of lies from Cuban-American politicians."
In his message, Rodríguez Parrilla described the words of the U.S. president as "blasphemy" and asserted that the Cubans are willing to "give their lives" to defend national sovereignty.
The statements from the head of Cuban diplomacy were not limited to a rhetorical defense.
In them, he reiterated the historical discourse of "anti-imperialist resistance" that the regime has used for decades, while also presenting a scenario of direct confrontation with the United States, portraying any external pressure as an aggression that would justify the mobilization and sacrifice of the population.
This exchange of accusations comes as the Island faces one of the worst economic and social crises in decades, marked by prolonged blackouts, food shortages, and a massive exodus.
In that scenario, the Cuban government's belligerent rhetoric once again relies on the narrative of an external threat to unify its ranks and divert attention from internal deterioration and the growing demands for change within the country.
For most Cubans, this is part of a propaganda strategy that uses international conflicts to divert attention from the deep flaws of the internal political and economic model.
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