‘Nobody Tells Us What To Do’ Says Cuban President Díaz-Canel to Trump

Havana, Cuba:  “Nobody dictates what we do,” responded Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Sunday to US President Donald Trump, who urged the island to reach “an agreement before it’s too late.”  “Cuba is a free, independent, and sovereign nation. Nobody dictates what we do,” Díaz-Canel stated on X, after emphasizing that the island “is preparing” and is “ready to defend the homeland to the last drop of blood.” 

Trump on Sunday urged Cuba to “reach a deal” or face unspecified consequences, and warned that the flow of Venezuelan oil and money to Havana would stop from now on.  “Those who are now hysterically venting their anger against our nation are doing so out of rage at the sovereign decision of this people to choose their political model,” Díaz-Canel added. 

He also stressed that “those who blame the Revolution for the severe economic shortages” suffered by Cubans “should be ashamed to keep quiet,” because “they know and acknowledge that these shortages are the result of the draconian measures of extreme strangulation that the U.S. has been applying to us for six decades and threatens to surpass now.” 

Under a U.S. embargo, Havana has become increasingly dependent, since 2000, on Venezuelan oil supplied as part of an agreement reached with Maduro’s predecessor, the late Hugo Chávez.  The island has been suffering from a severe fuel shortage for the past two years, which affects economic life and electricity production.  Earlier, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez stated on X that the United States “behaves like a criminal and uncontrolled hegemon that threatens peace and security, not only in Cuba and this hemisphere, but throughout the world.”

Donald Trump tells Cuba to ‘Reach a Deal Before it’s Too Late’

These statements by Donald Trump come a week after the United States captured the now deposed Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro.

Washington, United States: US President Donald Trump on Sunday urged Cuba to “reach an agreement” or face unspecified consequences, and warned that the flow of Venezuelan oil and money to Havana will stop from now on.  “NO MORE OIL OR MONEY FOR CUBA: ZERO!” Trump said on his Truth Social network. “I strongly suggest you reach an agreement, BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE,” he added.  These statements by Trump come a week after the United States captured the now deposed Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro. 

The nighttime military operation in Caracas resulted in the deaths of dozens of members of Venezuelan and Cuban security forces.  Shortly before, Trump reposted a message from a user on the X network suggesting that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be president of Cuba and added the comment: “Sounds good to me!”  In his own post shortly afterward, Trump said that “Cuba lived, for many years, off large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela.

In return, Cuba provided ‘Security Services’ to the last two Venezuelan dictators, BUT NO MORE!”  “Most of those Cubans are DEAD from the US attack last week (they were hired as bodyguards for Maduro), and Venezuela no longer needs protection from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years,” Trump added.  Under a US embargo, Havana has become increasingly dependent, since 2000, on Venezuelan oil supplied as part of an agreement reached with Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez, now deceased.