As Trump floats “taking over Cuba,” the island’s president warns any aggression will be met with “irrepressible resistance”
Cuba’s leader is vowing to “stand up” to the US as President Trump suggests he could “take over” the island nation, whose communist government has faced months of intense US pressure and is reeling under a severe power shortage.
“In the worst case, Cuba is accompanied by certainty: any foreign aggressor will face invincible resistance,” Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez wrote in a post on X late Tuesday, accusing the US of threatening to overthrow the Cuban government and exploit its resources.
The Cuban leader’s comments came a few hours after Mr. Trump revealed during a White House event that “we will do something with Cuba soon.” The day before, the president floated the idea of ”some kind of takeover of Cuba,” after last month a “friendly takeover of Cuba” was possible.
“Or I release it, take it, I think I can do whatever I want with it,” he told reporters on Monday.
He also said on Sunday that the Cuban and American governments are talking, and “I think that very soon we will make an agreement or do whatever we have to do.” He added that he wants to deal with a war with Iran before talking to the island nation.
Mr. Trump is still unclear about his plans for Cuba. But his foreign policy grew more aggressive this year – he ordered the military into action in January to arrest Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduroand just two months later, introduce war with Iran.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration threat values from any of the countries that sell oil to Cuba, causing petroleum exports to the island to stop. This move exacerbated the country’s electricity crisis and fuel shortages. We brothers faced an island-wide blackout this week, and there were protests reported last week.
Meanwhile, Miami prosecutors are targeting Cuban leaders for prosecution on economic, drug, violence and immigration charges, CBS News. reported earlier this month.
In January, an American official he told CBS News that the US does not want to cause the fall of the Cuban government, but instead wants to negotiate with Havana to move away from its strong Communist system.
One of the top economic officials in Cuba it was announced on Monday that the country plans to allow Cubans living abroad – including the US – to invest in companies on the island, in an apparent concession to a country that has had a state-controlled economy for decades. It is unclear whether the move will lead to new investment, given the tough US sanctions that make it difficult for Americans to do business with Cuba.
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the measure does not go far enough.
“Cuba has a dysfunctional economy and a political and governmental system that cannot fix it,” he said. “So they have to change a lot. What they announced yesterday is not surprising enough. It won’t fix it. So they have some big decisions to make there.”
