Miguel Díaz-Canel stated, in a segment of an interview shared by former Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias, that he is willing to give his life for the Cuban revolution, a conviction he claimed to share with his own family.
The excerpt, published by Iglesias on his X account, is part of a longer interview recorded during Iglesias' visit to Cuba, as part of the "Nuestra América" convoy.
The question that prompted the statement was about the viral gesture of singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez, who had publicly demanded an AKM rifle on his blog "Segunda Cita" in response to threats from Washington: "I demand my AKM if they attack. And let it be clear that I am very serious about this."
Díaz-Canel responded that this gesture was a symbol of the conviction of the Cuban people: "If they come in, they should give me my AKM. What Silvio says is a symbol of what the majority of the Cuban people's conviction is."
Next, the leader went further: "I tell you this with the deep conviction I have, which I have shared with my family, that we would give our lives for the revolution." However, he clarified that the regime does not seek confrontation. "We do not want war. We want dialogue, we want to reach that situation... But if that space does not open up, we are prepared."
Díaz-Canel also confirmed in the interview that the regime is implementing a "plan to enhance the defense preparedness of the entire population," based on the historical doctrine of the War of the Whole People. He described this doctrine as "a concept of defending the sovereignty and independence of the country, but with popular participation," in which "each Cuban knows what role and mission they must fulfill in the defense."
Last Thursday, during the tenth National Defense Day, Díaz-Canel presided over military exercises in Playa Baracoa featuring the FAR, Territorial Troop Militias, Production and Defense Brigades, the Young Workers' Army, and civilians.
On that same day, the Minister of the FAR, Álvaro López Miera, formally presented Silvio Rodríguez with an actual AKM rifle and a symbolic replica, clarifying that the gesture was "only symbolic."
Despite the severe economic crisis affecting the island, characterized by widespread power outages, shortages of fuel, food, and medicine, Díaz-Canel asserted before Iglesias that "even in these difficult times, in Cuba, people have more possessions and guaranteed rights than at any other time in history."
Iglesias' visit to Cuba was criticized by opponents and Cubans in exile, who accused him of promoting the regime from a luxury hotel while the Cuban people endure one of the worst crises in their history. A Cuban resident in Spain challenged Iglesias to live for a month in Cuba under real conditions, away from five-star hotels.
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