Miguel Díaz-Canel categorically dismissed any political transition in Cuba when asked about the 176 economic measures approved by the National Assembly on June 18.
"We are not seeking a capitalist restoration in the country. We are seeking a refinement of socialist construction under the highly unfavorable conditions we face today on an international level and also as a consequence of U.S. policy towards Cuba," he said in recent statements to Dominican journalist Roberto Cavada from Telenoticias, broadcast on Wednesday by Telesistema of the Dominican Republic.
The conversation, lasting more than 70 minutes, takes place at a time of heightened tension between Havana and Washington in recent years.
In response to the question of whether the reforms are a reaction to the pressures from the Trump administration, the leader was blunt: “Trump does not command in Cuba, nor does the U.S. government command in Cuba. Cuba is sovereign. Cuba defends its self-determination.”
Díaz-Canel stated that the transformations are "the result of issues that have been discussed for the last 10 or 15 years" and described them as "uniquely Cuban solutions, completely Cuban."
Regarding the dialogue with Washington, he confirmed the existence of a communication channel but set conditions that the regime considers non-negotiable: "One cannot converse or negotiate under pressure, much less condition the dialogue on a change to our political system or on anything related to our sovereignty, our independence, or our self-determination."
The leader also dismissed Washington's interpretation that economic reforms could pave the way for political change: "They aspire to a Cuba that is completely dependent on the United States and a Cuba that is entirely privatized," he stated, ruling out that the Cuban political system is "on the negotiation table."
The interview took place four days before the Undersecretary of State Christopher Landau described Cuba as a "failed state" before the 56th General Assembly of the OAS and called for immediate political reforms, and one day after the Trump administration announced new sanctions against five GAESA entities.
Regarding the energy crisis, Díaz-Canel acknowledged that in the past six months, only one fuel tanker arrived on the island —the Russian ship, which he said, "became the most famous ship in the world." The leader informed that Cuba installed over 1,000 MW of photovoltaic parks in 2025, raising the share of renewable energies from 3% to 10% in one year, and that during peak sunlight hours, those panels generate more than 50% of the country's electricity.
Regarding the humanitarian aid offer of 100 million dollars announced by Washington, Díaz-Canel described it as a "joke": he pointed out that it does not include medicines or food, that it will not be distributed until after September, and that nothing has arrived in Cuba so far, even though the regime accepted it in writing.
The contrast he presented was straightforward: that $100 million represents a minimal fraction compared to the over $5 billion annually in damages that, according to the calculations of the Cuban government itself, the embargo causes.
CEPAL projects a contraction of the Cuban GDP of 6.5% for 2026, which would make Cuba the worst-performing economy in Latin America for the second consecutive year, while blackouts in Havana reach up to 20 hours daily and critical shortages of food and medicine persist.
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