Cuba’s leadership has strongly condemned a series of US statements hinting at military action against the island, calling them dangerous and criminal, as an American-led oil blockade continues to devastate the Caribbean island’s energy supply.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez described the United States as signalling military intervention to “liberate” Cuba, labelling the posture hypocritical. “The threat of a military attack and the aggression itself are international crimes,” Rodriguez wrote on social media Tuesday. He further blamed decades of US sanctions for Cuba’s economic and social deterioration.
Washington Turns Up the Pressure
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that the status quo in Cuba was unacceptable and that Washington would act, though he offered no timeline. Notably, the US embassy in Havana posted images of Rubio walking alongside its chief of mission, Mike Hammer, and General Frank Donovan of US Southern Command, which oversees American military operations across the Caribbean. A separate US military post showed Rubio beside Donovan in front of a map of Cuba.
The Trump administration has significantly intensified pressure on Havana, cutting off Venezuelan oil, threatening sanctions against any country supplying Cuba. President Donald Trump did permit a single Russian tanker to deliver fuel on humanitarian grounds, yet that shipment covered only a fraction of Cuba’s needs over four months.
Havana Vows ‘No Surrender’
Consequently, Havana returned to lengthy daily blackouts as Russian fuel ran out, stoking anxiety ahead of a harsh Caribbean summer. Trump’s remarks on Saturday, joking about deploying an aircraft carrier to force Cuba’s surrender, drew a sharp response.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel called them “a dangerous escalation without precedent.” And added, “No aggressor, no matter how strong, will be met with surrender in Cuba.”
