Related videos:
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla reiterated on Wednesday that a military action by the United States against Cuba "would provoke a true humanitarian catastrophe, a bloodbath," in a new post on that closely mirrors the message he has maintained over the past two weeks.
In the message, Rodríguez Parrilla stated that «Cuban and American citizens would lose their lives», and added that this scenario is only promoted by «politicians who do not send their children and family members to wars».
The chancellor further insisted that "there is not the slightest reason, not even the slightest pretext, for a superpower like the U.S. to militarily aggress against a small island that poses no threat," attributing the pressures to "the desire of a few to change its political system or government."
Today's statement is Rodríguez's fifth public address on the same topic in less than two weeks.
On May 8, in an interview with the ABC News network from Havana, he had already warned that Washington was taking a "dangerous path" that could lead to "humanitarian catastrophe, genocide, and loss of life for Cubans and young Americans," and he asserted that Cuba would exercise its "right to legitimate defense to the fullest extent".
The pattern began on May 2, when Rodríguez responded to statements by Donald Trump with the phrase «Cubans do not allow ourselves to be intimidated».
The next day, he described the energy restrictions as "an act of war equivalent to a naval blockade, as defined by international law," and on May 5, he reiterated at the International Meeting of Solidarity with Cuba that there is no justification for military aggression.
The trigger for this rhetorical escalation was Executive Order 14404, signed by Trump on May 1, which expanded the national emergency declared in January and enabled secondary sanctions against those who do business with the Cuban regime.
On May 7, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced direct sanctions against GAESA —the military conglomerate that controls between 40% and 70% of the formal Cuban economy— and against Moa Nickel S.A., a state mining company that suspended operations on the same day.
Foreign financial institutions have until June 5 to terminate operations with GAESA under the threat of secondary sanctions.
Trump, for his part, had stated at the Forum Club of Palm Beaches that the United States would "take Cuba almost immediately" after military operations against Iran, and suggested deploying the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln off the coast of Cuba to provoke the regime's surrender.
On May 9, Rodríguez also criticized Rubio for revealing from Rome a supposed offer of 100 million dollars in humanitarian aid funneled through the Catholic Church, calling it a "tale" and a "lie." The regime denied having received such an offer.
This Tuesday, the State Department attempted to ease tensions and ruled out imminent military action against Cuba, although Trump's rhetoric has not ceased.
Rodríguez's warnings contrast with the serious economic, energy, and migration crisis the island faces as a result of six decades of communist dictatorship, as well as the military asymmetry highlighted by experts in the event of armed conflict.
Filed under: