As the US escalates its rhetoric towards Cuba to an unprecedented degree, issuing direct threats and public warnings, Cuban responses reaffirm its commitment to sovereignty and its rejection of blackmail.
This displays a standoff between a superpower seeking to impose its influence and a small nation determined to defend its independent decision-making, regardless of the pressure.
Trump Urges Cuba to Reach Agreement
As the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro continue to cast a long shadow over the global landscape, US President Donald Trump has moved to threatened Cuba, Colombia, and Mexico.
This time, Trump commented on the Cuban issue, sharing a tweet from an X user who claimed that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio would become president of Cuba.
Trump jokingly responded on his Truth Social account, saying, “That suits me.”
New US Warning to Cuba
In a new warning, Trump threatened to cut off oil supplies to Cuba, saying on Truth Social: “For many years, Cuba has lived off massive amounts of oil and money from Venezuela. In return, Cuba provided security services to the last two Venezuelan dictators. But not anymore. Most of those Cubans were killed in the US attack last week—the Cuban government announced the deaths of 32 Cuban officers during Maduro’s capture—and Venezuela no longer needs protection from the extortionists who held it hostage for so many years.”
He continued: “Venezuela now has the United States of America, with the most powerful military in the world by far, to protect it, and we will protect it.”
“No more oil or money will go to Cuba,” he said, suggesting that an agreement must be reached before it’s too late.
Cuba Responds to US Threats
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez responded to Trump’s threats against his country, amid increasingly provocative US rhetoric following the attack on Venezuela and the abduction of its president.
Posting on the “X” platform, the Cuban Foreign Minister said that the Cuban people will not sell out their homeland, will not succumb to threats or blackmail, and will not relinquish their inalienable right to build their future in peace with the entire world.
Rodríguez continued, “We will defend Cuba, and everyone who knows us understands that this is a firm, unwavering, and proven commitment. The US wants to impose its will on the rights of sovereign nations.”
Cuban President: “No one dictates us.”
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel responded to Trump’s threats, saying, “No one dictates to us what to do.”
He added, via the X platform, “There is no moral obligation to reduce Cuba to nothing, where they can turn everything into a business, including human life.”
