The Cuban presenter and activist Alexander Otaola delivered a powerful message to the Cuban people following the recent executive order signed by President Donald Trump, aimed at blocking the supply of oil to the island through the imposition of tariffs.
The measure, framed within the declaration of a "national emergency," has been met with support from certain sectors of the Cuban exile community and strong criticism from the regime in Havana.
Otaola celebrated what he considers "the first step on a path that has no turning back" and urged the Cuban population—both inside and outside the island—to rise up definitively against the system that has governed the country for more than six decades.
“The first step, the poster that Giménez posted said: no oil, no remittances, and no travel… the change is now. Oil will no longer come, remittances and travel will be canceled in the coming hours, at the latest weeks”, he asserted on his program, referring to Congressman Carlos Giménez.
Otaola highlighted that Trump's decision marks a new phase in the confrontation with the Cuban regime and took the opportunity to deliver one of his most vehement speeches in defense of Cuba's freedom:
"It’s now or never, I say this from the heart. It’s now or never. Everyone against them. Everyone against the murderous dictatorship, everyone against those who make Cuban children beg in the streets, get indoctrinated in schools, or separate from their parents, who say they are searching for a better future that never arrives. Everyone against those who have divided families. Everyone against the terrorist PCC."
The influencer urged not to doubt the historic moment that, according to him, is within reach.
“We are very close, we are very close. Don't doubt it, brother, freedom is in the air”, he asserted.
"Let us all help it reach, once and for all, the suffering Cuban people. The Cuban people who die on their knees. Stand up, stand up now because this is the moment. Don't wait any longer. There is nothing more to fear. There is nothing more to wait for. The solution will never come from those who have caused you all the pain," he added.
He also made it clear that, for him, there is no room for half-measures or conciliatory voices
"Whoever wishes to advocate for the tyrant is, solely and exclusively, a traitor, and traitors have no place in this war. You are the one who is going to change this. You are the one who can be freed; we are here."
The context of Trump's offensive
The U.S. government, under Trump's leadership, issued an executive order this week imposing tariff sanctions on countries that supply oil to Cuba.
The administration justified the decision by stating that the actions of the Cuban regime represent "an unusual and extraordinary threat" to the national security of the United States, and accused it of collaborating with regimes such as Russia, Iran, and China, as well as with terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
According to the White House, Cuba "harbors dangerous adversaries," provides infrastructure for foreign intelligence operations, and promotes instability in the region through migratory flows and systematic repression.
"The United States has zero tolerance for the predations of the Cuban communist regime," warns the official document.
The ultimate goal, as revealed by the Wall Street Journal, is to accelerate the collapse of the prevailing system on the island.
From the Cuban regime, the response was immediate. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez described the measure as “a brutal act of aggression” and accused Washington of trying to “subject Cuba to extreme living conditions” through diplomatic blackmail and lies.
“Every day there is new evidence that the only threat to peace, security, and stability in the region, and the only malignant influence, is that exerted by the U.S. government,” stated MINREX in a statement.
Exile hardens its stance: "No more remittances, no more flights."
Trump's decision came on the same day that Cuban-American congressmen from South Florida, Carlos Giménez and Mario Díaz-Balart, formally requested the suspension of all flights to Cuba and the permanent halt of remittances.
"No more flights, no more remittances, no more mechanisms that support the dictatorship," they proclaimed, joined by members of the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance and exiled activists.
Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar, although physically absent, joined the call via X.
The convergence between Trump's official discourse, Congressional pressure, and the narrative of media figures like Otaola reveals a coordinated strategy from South Florida aimed at provoking regime change in Cuba.
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