Trump wants to take Cuba, and the island’s president says he is prepared for war

Miguel Díaz-Canel, president of Cuba, says he is ready to defend the country from the United States during the 65th anniversary of the victory of the Bay of Pigs invasion ADALBERTO ROQUE / AFP The president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, assured, this Thursday (16), that his country is “ready” to face military aggression from the United States and reaffirmed the “socialist” character of the Cuban State due to the 65th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs invasion. 📱Download the g1 app to see news in real time and for free “The moment is extremely challenging and calls on us to be prepared to face serious threats, including military aggression”, declared the head of state. The speech comes at a time of pressure from the North American side. Recently, Trump even said he believed he would have the “honor” of taking Cuba. “We don’t want it, but it is our duty to prepare to avoid it and, if it is inevitable, defeat it,” added Díaz-Canel in a speech given in front of thousands of people gathered in the center of Havana to celebrate the victory in the battle of the Bay of Pigs. Between April 15 and 19, 1961, around 1,400 anti-Castro fighters trained and financed by the CIA disembarked in the Bay of Pigs, 250 kilometers from Havana, without managing to overthrow Fidel Castro’s socialist government. The operation was launched after Havana implemented agrarian reform and a broad campaign to nationalize American lands and companies. See the videos that are trending on g1 READ MORE: Trump wants to take Cuba: understand American pressure, the blackouts and the signs that the regime may give in Trump’s measures and blackouts force Cuba to negotiate with the United States Washington, which has opposed the Cuban government since 1959, intensified economic pressure in January by blocking the supply of hydrocarbons to the island. The measure came shortly after the overthrow of his main ally, then Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. “A false and very cynical narrative was constructed: that of Cuba as a failed state (…) Cuba is not a failed state, it is a surrounded state”, continued the head of state. “We continue to be a socialist revolution right under the nose of the empire,” he added, referring to his powerful neighbor. “I believe that one moment is not the same as another, what is the same is that the people are willing to defend their sovereignty whatever the cost,” María Regueiro, an 82-year-old retiree, present in the crowd, told AFP. The historically conflictive relations between the two neighbors and ideological enemies, Cuba and the United States, face worsening tensions. However, there are ongoing talks in both countries. Cubans take to the streets to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the victory of the invasion in the Bay of Pigs YAMIL LAGE / AFP Trump wants to take Cuba Cuba has been among Trump’s targets since his first term, between 2017 and 2021. At the time, he reversed the openness policy adopted by Barack Obama and toughened sanctions against the island. Upon returning to the White House last year, Donald Trump reversed a decision from the previous administration and placed Cuba back on the list of countries sponsoring terrorism. In January of this year, the United States press reported that the Trump administration began working with the goal of promoting regime change in Cuba by the end of 2026. Since then, Washington has intensified pressure on the country. The island returned to the spotlight of American foreign policy after the fall of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. At the end of that month, Trump made a new attempt to increase the pressure. By means of a decree, he authorized tariffs against any country that sells or supplies oil to Cuba. The White House said the measure was necessary to maintain stability in the Caribbean. “The United States has zero tolerance for the atrocities of the Cuban communist regime and will act to protect foreign policy, national security and national interests,” states the order signed by Trump. The measure was seen as an attempt to suffocate the Cuban economy. At the same time, the Trump administration accused the island of aligning itself with Russia, China, Iran and terrorist groups and therefore posing a threat to the national security of the United States. *With information from AFP

Source link