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The message from Miguel Díaz-Canel in response to the new sanctions from Washington against GAESA sparked a wave of criticism from Cubans who outright rejected the official discourse and returned the regime's own language regarding "cruelty".
In his post, Díaz-Canel stated that "our people already know the cruelty behind the actions of the U.S. government" and that the measures "worsen the already difficult situation facing our country, while simultaneously strengthening our determination to defend the Homeland, the Revolution, and Socialism."
The response in the comments was overwhelming and predominantly against the regime.
The comment that best summarized the general sentiment was straightforward: "Now the measures affect you; those affecting the people started 67 years ago."
Other users were equally explicit in dismantling the official narrative about U.S. sanctions.
"The measures are not against the people, they are against GAESA, which you don't even have access to that money. Stop creating smoke screens. Just let go of the power, as you have nothing to offer," wrote another commenter.
Several Cubans described their daily reality as evidence that the "cruelty" does not come from Washington but from Havana: "After more than 20 hours without power, without water, without medications, with food prices through the roof, I don't even know what to say. What I'm sure about, after 67 years of the same problems, is that there must be a radical change, and soon. SOS CUBA."
The sale of liquefied gas at 29 dollars per tank was one of the most frequently mentioned topics in the comments, cited as an example of the government's own policy against its population.
A user was emphatic: "Before showcasing the cruelty of others, you should first show the Cuban people where the billions of dollars in profits from 30 years of exporting our nickel and cobalt have gone."
The sanctions announced this Thursday by Secretary of State Marco Rubio directly target GAESA, its CEO Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera, and the mining company Moa Nickel S.A., under Executive Order 14404 signed by Trump on May 1.
Washington accuses GAESA of controlling a network of illicit assets valued at up to 20 billion dollars diverted to accounts abroad, while the Cuban people lack electricity, water, and medicine.
The new measures also set a deadline of June 5 for foreign companies to cease operations with GAESA, under the threat of secondary sanctions.
Multiple commentators also recalled the "combat order" that Díaz-Canel issued during the protests of July 11, 2021, when the regime responded with thousands of arrests to the largest demonstrations since 1959, as an argument to refute the official narrative about "living in peace."
The most frequently repeated demands in the hundreds of comments gathered on the post were free elections, the release of political prisoners, freedom of expression, and the resignation of the government.
Some pointed out the underlying contradiction: "Stop playing the victim. The most serious problems in Cuba were not created by the people or an external excuse: they were created by a failed communist system and those who have upheld it for decades while the country is falling apart."
Since January 2026, the Trump administration has imposed more than 240 sanctions against the Cuban regime and intercepted at least seven oil tankers, reducing the island's energy imports by between 80% and 90%, according to official U.S. figures.
Rubio warned in his statement that "new sanctions are expected in the coming days and weeks."
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