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The Cuban chancellor Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla stated that "Cuba is not an enemy of the United States, nor does it want to be" and that the island has "a deep commitment to peace," in an exclusive interview with the state-run news agency Prensa Latina, at the conclusion of two and a half days in New York.
The statements were made following his participation in a formal session of the UN Security Council, convened under the Chinese presidency of the organization, where the head of Cuban diplomacy presented the regime's position and denounced what he described as a military threat and an energy blockade by Washington.
Rodríguez dismissed the idea that Havana could pose a threat to Washington for two reasons: "it's a small island and this is a nuclear superpower," and, furthermore, it has a commitment to peace "enshrined in the principles of the Cuban Revolution."
The Chancellor described the U.S. argument of the "supposed threat" as "false and ridiculous" and claimed that its purpose is to "manipulate public opinion in the U.S., Cuba, and globally" to justify what he called a "genocidal" policy, a "crime against humanity," and "collective punishment."
At the same time, he warned that "Cuba will do everything possible to avoid a military escalation," although he did not rule out the worst-case scenario.
Rodríguez also appealed to the ties between both nations to support the argument that "there are deep, emotional, fraternal connections between the Cuban people and the people of the United States."
He also noted that the majority of Americans and Cuban residents in that country oppose military action against Cuba and the energy blockade.
Despite Rodríguez's conciliatory tone with the press, on Tuesday the Chancellor unequivocally warned the UN Security Council: "Let no one doubt that should the time come, which we hope never occurs, the people of Cuba will fight to the last consequence."
The statements are part of an intense diplomatic offensive by the regime in May 2026, amidst the highest escalation of tensions between Washington and Havana in decades.
On Friday, in an event described as unprecedented in recent times, the head of the U.S. Southern Command, General Francis L. Donovan, met with Army Corps General Roberto Legrá Sotolongo at the perimeter of Guantánamo Naval Base to discuss what Southern Command referred to as "operational security matters."
On Wednesday, Rodríguez admitted to the channel MS Now that there has been "no progress in the bilateral talks" between Cuba and the United States, and accused Secretary of State Marco Rubio of "constantly lying" and having "a unhealthy tendency to provoke military confrontation."
One day prior, Rodríguez met with the Secretary-General of the UN, António Guterres, to request his intervention to halt what he described as a military aggression by the United States against Cuba.
Since January, the administration of President Donald Trump has accumulated more than 240 sanctions against Cuba, including an executive order that imposed secondary sanctions on countries supplying oil to the island, which reduced Cuba's energy imports by 80% to 90% and resulted in continuous blackouts lasting over 24 hours on the island.
On May 20, the Department of Justice declassified a federal indictment against Raúl Castro and five Cuban military personnel for the downing of two aircraft from Brothers to the Rescue on February 24, 1996, which resulted in the deaths of four individuals.
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