Related videos:
Abel Prieto, former Minister of Culture of Cuba and current president of Casa de las Américas, criticized on his Facebook account those Cubans who support Donald Trump and Marco Rubio and demand military intervention from the United States against the island, labeling them as "rabid annexationists" and "undignified" of the Cuban name.
In his post, Prieto wrote: "They create a monstrous, disgusting spectacle on social media, the Cubans unworthy of that name who applaud Trump and Marco Rubio and demand military intervention from the U.S. against Cuba."
The regime official stated he did not know "if the expression 'secondhand embarrassment' is suitable to describe what I have felt in the face of that vengeful torrent of resentment," and added bluntly: "They are sick in the soul."
To strengthen his argument, Prieto referenced José Martí, who described himself as "Without a country but without a master," contrasting this with those who call for intervention: "Of these rabid annexationists, one could say 'Without a country but with a master.'"
The text concludes with a quote from the Spanish poet Dámaso Alonso —"You will not bite my heart, mother of hatred," from The Sons of Wrath— and the motto "Cuba will prevail!!!".
Moreover, as if that weren't enough, the spokesperson and member of the regime accompanied his post with images of venomous snakes, reinforcing his message of hate.
Prieto's statements come at a time of unprecedented escalation between Washington and Havana.
Since January 2026, the Trump administration signed Executive Order 14404 on May 1, which freezes the assets of the Cuban regime and imposes secondary sanctions on foreign companies that operate with sanctioned entities.
In that same period, the U.S. has imposed more than 240 sanctions against the regime and intercepted at least seven oil tankers destined for Cuba, reducing the island's energy imports by between 80 and 90%.
The Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced new sanctions against GAESA, the Cuban military conglomerate that controls between 40 and 70% of the island's formal economy, last Wednesday.
In that climate, sectors of the exile community have openly expressed their support for military action. A survey from the Miami Herald revealed that 79% of Cuban Americans in South Florida support this option.
The Assembly of the Cuban Resistance, based in Doral, endorsed a "surgical operation" against the regime: "If a surgical operation is necessary to remove the oppressors... blessed be it," declared Luis Zúñiga, a member of that organization.
Trump himself fueled the debate on March 30 by stating, "Cuba is going to be next. It's a disaster, a failed country. It will fail very soon, and we will be there to help." In May, he also suggested that the U.S. could "take control" of the island "almost immediately."
The Pentagon conducted 25 reconnaissance flights near Cuba and updated contingency plans, although AP sources clarified that there is no imminent military action.
The regime has responded with a narrative of resistance. Díaz-Canel stated on May 2 that "no aggressor, no matter how powerful, will find surrender in Cuba," while figures like Prieto are mobilizing in cultural spaces to reinforce that discourse.
White House officials believe, according to reports this week, that the Cuban regime could collapse before the end of 2026 without the need for direct military intervention.
Filed under: