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Roberto Morales Ojeda, Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and member of the Political Bureau, posted a message on X this Saturday congratulating the American people on the 250th anniversary of their independence, including a quote attributed to Fidel Castro that draws a line between American citizens and the Trump administration.
"Congratulations to the people of the United States on their Independence Day," wrote Morales Ojeda, subsequently quoting the words he attributes to the late Cuban leader: "We know how to differentiate between a noble and supportive people on one side, and an imperial government and a handful of haters on the other. We are anti-imperialists, not 'anti-Americans'."
The message, accompanied by the hashtags #Fidel and #CubaEstáFirme, included an image of Castro speaking in front of a microphone with the Cuban flag in the background.
The gesture is striking given the moment it occurs. Morales Ojeda was included in the Specially Designated Nationals list by the Department of the Treasury on May 18, 2026, as part of Executive Order 14404 signed by President Donald Trump on May 1 to impose sanctions on those responsible for repression in Cuba.
In that same round of sanctions, another 10 high-ranking Cuban officials were blocked, including Esteban Lazo Hernández, president of the National Assembly, and Mayra Arevich Marín, minister of Communications, as well as three entities: the Intelligence Directorate (G2), the Ministry of the Interior, and the Revolutionary National Police.
What Morales Ojeda calls "imperial government" and "a handful of haters" is the same administration that, just three days before sanctioning him, he had publicly challenged to boast about the supposed transparency of the Cuban regime.
Relations between Havana and Washington are at their lowest point in decades. Since January 2026, the Trump administration has blocked oil shipments to Cuba from Venezuela and Mexico, resulting in massive blackouts, food shortages, and deaths in hospitals.
In April, a delegation from the State Department held a secret meeting in Havana and demanded the release of political prisoners within two weeks, warning that "the Cuban economy is in free fall."
In May, the regime rejected a $100 million humanitarian aid offer announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and on June 24, the U.S. imposed a new round of sanctions against five Cuban entities. Since January 2026, Washington has added more than 240 additional sanctions against the island.
The rhetorical distinction between the American people and their government —a staple of Cuban revolutionary discourse that Castro himself repeated for decades— emerges in Morales Ojeda's message as an implicit response to that accumulated pressure.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Havana also released its own message for the occasion: "The future of Cuba is bright, prosperous, and free."
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