Politics Cuba's president warns USA of "insurmountable resistance"
Following US President Donald Trump's statements about a possible takeover of Cuba by the USA, the head of state of the Caribbean island has issued a warning.
18.03.2026, 04:58
SDA
"Even in the worst-case scenario, Cuba can be sure of one thing: Any external aggressor will face insurmountable resistance," wrote President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Platform X.
Trump had recently hinted at an imminent US intervention in the Cuban power structure and talked about "taking over" or "liberating" the socialist state in some form. In fact, he could do anything he wanted with Cuba, he told journalists on Monday. In view of the severe economic crisis on the island, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke of the need for a change of leadership.
"The people in charge don't know how to solve this. So new people have to take over," said Rubio. According to US media reports, the government in Washington does not consider President Díaz-Canel, who has been in power since 2019, to be the right person to drive forward the economic and political changes in Cuba desired by Trump.
Díaz-Canel accuses the USA of economic warfare
Relations between the USA and Cuba have been tense since the revolution under Fidel Castro's leadership in 1959. A US trade embargo against Cuba has been in force for more than 60 years and has exacerbated the economic crisis on the island. Since the start of Trump's second term in office just over a year ago in particular, tensions have intensified once again.
"The US publicly threatens Cuba almost daily to overthrow the constitutional order by force," wrote Díaz-Canel on X. Trump's government is not only announcing plans to take over Cuba and its resources, it is also trying to suffocate the country economically and force it to surrender. "This is the only way to explain the bitter economic war that is being waged as collective punishment against the entire population," said the Cuban president.
With tariff threats against suppliers of oil exports to Cuba and a blockade of sanctioned tankers from the South American sister state of Venezuela, Trump has largely cut off the island's access to oil since December. However, the governments in Havana and Washington have confirmed in parallel that they are holding talks.
