Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel criticized the Shield of the Americas summit held in Miami, Florida, this Saturday, with the participation of 12 countries.
In a message on X, the regime representative described the summit as "small," "reactionary," and "neocolonial," and accused the United States of compromising right-wing governments in the region by endorsing the lethal use of U.S. military force to address internal issues in their respective countries.
In his statement, Díaz-Canel asserted that the meeting was "called by the U.S. with the participation of right-wing governments from the region" and maintained that this gathering "commits them to accepting the lethal use of U.S. military force to resolve internal issues, order, and tranquility in their countries."
The Cuban leader presented this interpretation as a broader regional threat and asserted that what happened constitutes "an affront to the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace."
In the same message, he added that the summit also represents “an attack on the aspirations for regional integration” and “a manifestation of the willingness to subordinate oneself to the interests of the powerful neighbor to the North under the principles of the Monroe Doctrine.”
Cuba at the center of the summit
This Saturday, during his speech at the summit, Trump stated that Cuba "wants to negotiate" with his administration and claimed that these discussions involve the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and himself, in statements where he also maintained that a potential agreement with Havana could be reached "very easily."
"And they want to negotiate. They are negotiating with Marco and me, and with some others. I believe an agreement with Cuba could be achieved very easily," said Trump.
In his statements, Trump portrayed Cuba as a country on the brink of economic and political collapse.
He stated that the island is “at the end of the road,” that it “has no money” or oil, and attributed this situation to what he described as “a bad philosophy” and “a bad regime that has been bad for a long time.”
The president also noted that in the past, Cuba received resources from Venezuela, but that support has reportedly disappeared.
As an example of the crisis he described, Trump stated that in Cuba there isn't even enough fuel for air operations.
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