Related videos:
Miguel Díaz-Canel warned that Cuba would respond with a guerrilla campaign to any military attack from the United States, while insisting that his government is seeking a diplomatic solution, in an exclusive interview granted to Newsweek at the Presidential Palace in Havana, the first with a U.S. media outlet since 2023.
The statements come amid a context of maximum pressure: since January, the Trump administration has blocked oil shipments to Cuba through an executive order that declared the Cuban regime an extraordinary and unusual threat to the national security of the United States, leaving millions of Cubans experiencing rolling blackouts of up to twenty hours a day, shortages of medications, and rising prices.
"We will always strive to avoid war. We will always work for peace. But if military aggression occurs, we will retaliate, we will fight, we will defend ourselves," declared Díaz-Canel, in a tone reminiscent of the regime's historic discourse in the face of external threats.
This stance comes weeks after Donald Trump himself hinted that Cuba is next by the way, but pretend, referring to potential actions of his administration in the region.
Amidst diplomatic tension, Democratic Congress members Pramila Jayapal and Jonathan Jackson met with Díaz-Canel in Havana during a visit that sparked controversy in Washington.
The Republican congressman Carlos Giménez accused his colleagues of hypocrisy for meeting with the Cuban government while the island continues to hold political prisoners and restrict fundamental freedoms.
In terms of energy, the fuel crisis experienced a brief relief with the arrival of a sanctioned Russian tanker that docked in Matanzas on March 30, which Moscow presented as a demonstration of its ability to break the energy blockade imposed by Washington.
Regarding President Trump, Díaz-Canel was direct: "I don't think much about what he has to say," he stated, dismissing the American leader's remarks as irrelevant to Cuban foreign policy.
Filed under: