Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel warned on Tuesday that any attempt to force political change on the island would be met with “impregnable resistance,” after the Trump administration signaled it is ramping up pressure on Havana.
His remarks come after Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated that the U.S. would maintain economic pressure on the island.
“The US publicly threatens Cuba, almost daily, with overthrowing the constitutional order by force,” Diaz-Canel wrote in a statement translated from Spanish.
“In the face of the worst scenario, Cuba is accompanied by a certainty: any external aggressor will clash with an impregnable resistance,” he added.
“Suffice it to say that the embargo is tied to political change on the island,” Rubio had said. “The law is codified, but the bottom line is, their economy doesn’t work. It’s a non-functional economy.”
The escalating rhetoric follows a deepening economic and energy crisis on the island, which Cuba has blamed on the Trump administration.
Havana has taken tentative steps toward reform, announcing this week it would expand opportunities for foreign investment in a bid to stabilize its state-run economy.
But Rubio dismissed the move as insufficient.
“It’s not going to fix it,” he said. “They’ve got some big decisions to make.”
U.S. pressure has intensified in recent months, including restrictions that have curtailed fuel shipments to the island, contributing to widespread blackouts and a crumbling electrical grid.
President Donald Trump suggested on Monday that Cuba’s weakened state gives the U.S. significant leverage.
TRUMP CLAIMS HE WILL HAVE THE ‘HONOR’ OF TAKING CUBA
“Whether I free it, take it — I think I can do anything I want with it,” Trump said. “They’re a very weakened nation now.”
Last week, the two countries held diplomatic talks. Diaz-Canel noted that the U.S. and Cuba were, however, “still far from an agreement.”
