While Donald Trump raises his rhetoric against the Cuban regime and warns that the only further step of pressure would be “to enter and destroy the place”, a historic voice of diplomacy from Havana responded with a phrase that encapsulates decades of confrontation: “We do not eat fear.”
The statement belongs to José Ramón Cabañas Rodríguez, former ambassador of Cuba to the United States, who reacted to the threats made by the U.S. president and the hardening of Washington's rhetoric following the fall of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, the main political and economic supporter of the Cuban regime for over two decades.
In statements to the international media Open, Cabañas dismissed Trump's warnings by recalling that Cuba has survived invasions, assassination attempts against Fidel Castro, and over 60 years of sanctions.
"They have been trying to do that for over 67 years. What has changed now?" asserted the diplomat, appealing to a narrative of resistance that the regime has repeated for generations.
The words of the former ambassador come at an especially delicate moment for Havana. Recently, Trump stated that Cuba is "hanging by a thread" after losing oil and money from Caracas, and he made it clear that he does not see room to increase pressure without resorting to direct military action. Although he said he does not consider it necessary for now, he insisted that the collapse of the system could occur due to internal exhaustion.
From Truth Social, the U.S. president was even more explicit in warning that “there will be no more oil or money for Cuba” and suggested that the regime must “make a deal before it's too late”.
In that context, Cabañas' response not only aims to challenge Trump but also to reaffirm the discourse of resistance of the Cuban power in the face of a population exhausted by scarcity, the energy crisis, and mass exodus.
The former ambassador, who was the first diplomatic representative of Cuba in Washington following the thaw initiated by Barack Obama, spoke from the experience of having witnessed both the rapprochement and the subsequent tightening during Trump's first term.
However, the contrast is evident. While Havana insists that "fear is not a source of sustenance," millions of Cubans face blackouts, rampant inflation, and the uncertainty of a country that is becoming increasingly isolated, just as Washington makes it clear that the squeeze is tightening and that this time, Cuba no longer has the backing of Venezuela.
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