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Johana Tablada de la Torre, the deputy head of mission at the Cuban embassy in Mexico, directly blamed Washington for the crisis that Cuba is experiencing and warned that the island is ready to confront a military confrontation if diplomacy fails, in an interview published this Friday in National Public Radio (NPR), the public broadcasting service of the United States.
The diplomat, one of the regime's most experienced negotiators on issues with the United States, spoke with journalist Eyder Peralta at the Cuban embassy in Mexico City, amidst an escalation of bilateral tensions that includes high-level negotiations in Havana and threats of military action from the administration of President Donald Trump.
Tablada attributed the prolonged blackouts, as well as the shortages of food, medicines, and fuel, to the sanctions imposed by the head of the White House since taking office, and in particular to a de facto blockade on oil that has been in effect since early 2026.
"When the United States says that what it wants is for Cuba to open its economy, it is not telling the truth. When it claims to care about human rights in Cuba, it is blatantly lying, because the United States is the only one responsible for the deterioration of the situation," he stated.
In response to the journalist's question about whether Cuba is ready for a possible American military attack, Tablada answered straightforwardly: "If they make the irresponsible, inhumane, and unjustified decision to attack a small nation that has not harmed any American or Cuban American, we are ready. We are ready for them."
When Peralta pointed out that the Cubans themselves blame their government and demand changes, Tablada rejected any public self-criticism at this time.
"In a moment of maximum pressure, blaming the victim is unfair. If we are a family and a big guy is outside cutting off the oxygen, water, and electricity, I don't think it's the right time to ask, 'Could you do better?'," he stated.
Tablada also outright rejected negotiating the presidency of Cuba or its economic system, issues that the Trump administration has demanded be reformed as a condition for an agreement.
"We are not willing to put on the negotiating table who the president of Cuba is or what economic system the country will have. Those decisions rightfully belong to the Cuban people," he stated.
The statements come in a context of heightened tension. On April 11, the State Department sent a delegation to Havana with demands that included the release of political prisoners such as Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Osorbo, according to the U.S. outlet Axios.
The regime rejected the conditions and labeled the ultimatum as "blackmail," although it did release more than 2,000 political prisoners between March and early April as part of those discussions.
The warlike rhetoric of the regime has intensified in parallel. This Saturday, the Cuban Foreign Ministry published a video of diplomats training with rifles under the slogan #CubaEstáFirme, which generated widespread mockery.
In previous sessions, Gerardo Hernández, national coordinator of the CDR, acknowledged that the United States could invade Cuba if it set its mind to it, although he added, it would then face a guerrilla war led by the entire population.
Tablada warned on April 7 in statements to El Sol de México that the regime does not rule out distributing weapons to the population in the event of a conflict, and that "it will not be an easy ride for them."
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