Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío issued a stark warning to the United States on Sunday, saying the island’s military is “ready” to respond to any US “aggression” as the Trump administration continues to push for regime change in the country.
This happened after President Donald Trump said at the White House on Monday that he believed he would have the “honor” to conquer Cuba, Reuters reported. “I believe it will be an honor — to have the honor to take Cuba. That would be a good honor — that’s a great honor. I mean, whether I’m going to liberate it, I’m going to take it. I think I can do whatever I want with it, you want to know the truth,” Trump said.
Speaking to NBC, Carlos mentioned that he could not understand why America would strike the island, noting that “our military is always prepared. And in fact these days they are preparing for the possibility of military aggression”.
“Our country has historically been ready to mobilize as a nation as a whole for military aggression,” Claros added.
Carlos said Cuba had always considered such a possibility remote and unlikely, but added that it would be foolish not to remain prepared.
Although US presidents have reportedly sought to change the Cuban government since Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, Carlos argued that regime change remains completely unacceptable. According to him, Cuba is a sovereign nation with the right to self-determination and would never agree to become a subordinate or dependent state under any country or superpower.
Carlos said Cuba’s economy took a sharp turn for the worse after the Trump administration captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January.
He noted that the United States had cut off supplies of Venezuelan oil vital to supporting Cuba’s economy, while the country’s transportation, health and education systems were also under pressure. He described the US oil embargo as extremely harsh and accused Washington of pressuring other countries with “coercive measures” to prevent fuel supplies to Cuba.
Carlos also said Cuba hoped fuel would continue to get to the island by some means, and expressed his belief that the U.S.-mandated boycott could not last indefinitely.
Carlos at negotiations with the US
Although the United States and Havana are currently holding talks led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, Carlos said those discussions do not include regime change or the release of political prisoners.
“We are in dialogue with the United States to talk about bilateral issues. We are not talking about prisoners in the United States, and the United States has the highest number of prisoners in the world,” Carlos mentioned.
While Rubio said this week that Cuba would collapse “on its own” and that Havana’s leaders “don’t know how to fix the country,” Carlos dismissed the idea that Cuba would collapse.
He noted, “What does ‘by itself’ mean when it’s forced by the United States? It’s a very bizarre statement,” adding, “Why does the U.S. government need to employ so many resources, so much political capital, so much human resources, to try to destroy another country’s economy? It obviously means that country doesn’t have the characteristics to collapse on its own.”
