The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba (MINREX) published this Thursday on its official X account a excerpt from a speech by the late dictator Fidel Castro under the hashtag #100YearsWithFidel, in which he rejects the idea that the Island should make political concessions in exchange for the lifting of the U.S. embargo.
In the video, Castro states: "Some intend for the blockade to be lifted in exchange for our capitulation. In exchange for our renunciation of our political principles, for our renunciation of socialism and our democratic forms."
The dictator continues with a rhetorical question: "Has any country made more political changes than we have? And what is a revolution if not the most profound and extraordinary political change that has occurred?"
The MINREX announcement comes on the same day that Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News that “the economy of Cuba cannot be fixed without changing its system of government”.
Rubio was more specific when he pointed out that Cuba needs to "change the people in charge, the system that governs the country, and the economic model," and he described the Cuban economy as "broken and non-functional," controlled by GAESA, the regime's military conglomerate with estimated assets of between 15 and 20 billion dollars.
The message from MINREX appears to be a direct response to those demands, using Castro's words as an ideological shield against the pressure from Washington.
The diplomatic context is at a peak of tension. Since January 2026, the Trump administration has imposed more than 240 sanctions against the Cuban regime and intercepted seven tankers, reducing energy imports by 80-90% and causing blackouts of up to 25 hours a day.
On May 7th, Rubio announced direct sanctions against GAESA and its president, Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera, describing the conglomerate as the "heart of the communist kleptocratic system."
At the same time, Cuba and the United States have been holding discreet negotiations since the beginning of the year.
On March 13, Miguel Díaz-Canel admitted that the dialogues were "very preliminary and initial," and on April 8, Washington confirmed that the conversations were ongoing "at the highest level".
However, on April 22, Díaz-Canel threatened to break off negotiations if Washington insisted on conditions regarding the Cuban political system, a stance that this Thursday's message reinforces with the voice of Fidel Castro himself.
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