Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has lashed out after US President Donald Trump said he could do “whatever he wants” with Cuba and Washington could take “imminent action” against it.
Diaz-Canel said late Tuesday that the Trump administration “publicly threatens” to topple Cuba’s government and that any aggressive action would “collide with invincible resistance.”
The comments came after fresh threats from Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the Cuban government’s socialist economic model “needs to change dramatically”.
While the Cuban government imposes heavy sanctions on the country’s private sector, decades of US embargoes have crippled Cuba’s economy.
The Trump administration is looking for Díaz-Canel to leave as the U.S. continues to negotiate with the Cuban government, according to a U.S. official and sources familiar with negotiations between Washington and Havana. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss sensitive negotiations.
No details were given on who the administration would like to see in power.
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Trump’s comments on Cuba came two months after his administration’s military offensive that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January and weeks after the February 28 launch of a joint US-Israeli military strike against Iran.
The administration has effectively cut off key oil exports to Cuba, leaving the Caribbean nation on edge.
Cubans who Trump and Rubio say they want to help are left reeling.
Overnight, groups of activists from different countries delivered five tons of medical equipment, solar panels and other aid, according to Cuban state television, while debilitating blackouts continue to plague the island.
Rigoberto Zarza, European director of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, said aid, especially solar panels, is crucial to help health institutions.
“The support provided by this aid is of great importance, both physically and from a medical point of view,” he said.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
(tags to translate)Cuba
