Gerardo Hernández calls those who ask for U.S. intervention "cowards" and "traitors to the homeland."

In the midst of the worst energy and social crisis Cuba has faced in decades, the former spy and national coordinator of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), Gerardo Hernández Nordelo, launched a fierce verbal attack against Cubans calling for U.S. intervention, labeling them as "cowards" and "traitors to the homeland."

The statements were broadcasted by the official news program Canal Caribe and were related to a political rally in zone 131 of the CDR in Punta Brava, La Lisa, dedicated to supporting the regime's response to the new offensive from Washington against the supply of oil to the island.

"You have to be a traitor to ask an empire to bomb its own people," Hernández stated, in a confrontational tone. According to the leader, those who demand external action against the regime "have not had the courage to do anything" and have waited for decades for "the Americans to do the dirty work so they can come in afterward and take over the country."

The speech by the leader of the CDR comes at a time when President Donald Trump has intensified his maximum pressure policy against Havana, signing an executive order that declares a "national emergency" and threatens sanctions and tariffs on countries that supply oil to Cuba.

The measure aims to cut one of the few avenues that still supports the Cuban energy system, which has already collapsed under daily power outages exceeding 20 hours, paralyzed transportation, and an economy on the brink of collapse.

In that context, Hernández assured that the country is prepared to resist. “If that is not what he wants to do, let him know that here, Cubans are ready to defend this revolution that has cost so much sacrifice,” he said, appealing to the rhetoric of resistance that the regime has historically used in the face of internal crises and external pressures.

The message contrasts sharply with the reality faced by millions of Cubans on the island, who are suffering from shortages of food, medicine, and fuel, accompanied by a massive migration that reflects social exhaustion. While those in power speak of sovereignty and sacrifice, the demand for profound changes is growing both within and outside the country in response to a model that fails to provide solutions.