The Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel took advantage of the main event commemorating the 73rd anniversary of the assault on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes barracks, held this Sunday in Pinar del Río, to launch a rhetorical offensive against Washington and assert that in the United States "it is prohibited to protest against the state policies that impoverish the majority while the power elites enrich themselves obscenely."
The official made those remarks in direct response to the report "Cuba: the Capital of 21st Century Communism", presented on July 20 by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which accuses the regime of having sponsored radical leftism in the U.S. for more than six decades.
"They have declared a world war against the left and Cuba as the capital of communism in the 21st century," stated Díaz-Canel, directly quoting the title of the document from the State Department.
Under this premise, the ruler built his central argument: that Washington uses Cuba as a "scapegoat" to divert attention from its own internal problems.
"By blaming Cuba, they are not only seeking a scapegoat, an external agent; they are looking for someone to hold responsible for the protests of the most affected sectors by an economy that enriches the wealthy while making the poor even poorer to unsustainable levels," he stated.
Díaz-Canel also accused the U.S. administration of "criminalizing protest without analyzing its causes" and of seeking "opportunistically a new excuse to sustain its genocidal policy against Cuba, which the world condemns."
The speech occurs in a context of heightened bilateral tension. Since January, Washington has imposed more than 240 new sanctions against officials and institutions of the Cuban regime.
Rubio's report also revealed a "National Rapid Response Plan" developed by a coalition of more than 60 organizations connected to Cuba to mobilize protests on U.S. soil in less than 24 hours in response to any military action against the island.
Díaz-Canel's rhetoric about the repression of protests in the United States, however, has a real underlying element that the leader uses to divert attention from internal repression in Cuba.
Amnesty International documented the arrest of at least 3,100 students for protests at U.S. universities in 2024, and Trump announced in June 2025 the criminalization of mask use during demonstrations.
Despite this, the contrast with Cuba is stark, as the regime continues to imprison hundreds of political prisoners who were sentenced for participating in the protests of July 11, 2021, and systematically suppresses any form of dissent.
In another part of the same speech, Díaz-Canel directly challenged Washington by stating that "economic, political, and social decisions are and will be ours."
The event in Pinar del Río took place amidst a profound energy crisis, marked by prolonged power outages and widespread shortages, which stand in stark contrast to the official propaganda displayed during the day.
Díaz-Canel concluded that part of his speech with a call that blends an appeal to American civil society with a defense of the regime.
"Leave Cuba to live in peace, as well as the noblest part of the American people who have historically fought for the human rights of other nations without expecting recognition and often facing persecution, imprisonment, and risks to their lives. Cuba is not a threat to the United States or to any other country on earth," he stated.
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