Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel delivers a speech in March. The president has warned that a US military assault on Cuba would cause a “bloodbath.” Adalberto Roque/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel warned Monday that a US military assault on Cuba “will cause a bloodbath with incalculable consequences” amid renewed tension between Havana and Washington.
“Cuba poses no threat, nor does it have aggressive plans or intentions against any country. It has none against the US, nor has it ever had any, something the government of that nation knows well,” the leader said in a post on X.
Díaz-Canel added that Cuba “is already suffering a multidimensional aggression from the US” and that it “has the absolute and legitimate right to defend itself against a military assault,” though he maintained that this “cannot logically or honestly be used as an excuse to impose a war against the noble Cuban people.”
Bilateral relations are at one of their lowest points in decades, with renewed pressure from US President Donald Trump and a spiraling energy crisis on the communist-run island. Last week, Cuba’s energy minister said that a last-minute Russian oil donation had been exhausted, and that Cubans would have to endure more power cuts.
Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel delivers a speech in March. The president has warned that a US military assault on Cuba would cause a “bloodbath.” Adalberto Roque/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
On Monday, the Trump administration announced new sanctions on the Cuban government, including its main intelligence agency and interior ministry. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that “additional sanctions actions can be expected in the following days and weeks.”
The US also sanctioned 11 Cuban officials, including the Minister of Justice and the Deputy Minister of Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces.
Another blow to the island came Sunday, when Reuters reported that major shipping companies Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM will no longer ship to or from Cuba to comply with new Trump administration rules. CNN has reached out to both companies.
The move will likely add to food scarcity on the island. For decades, the collapse of Cuba’s agricultural sector and economic mismanagement has meant the government has imported much of the food the island consumes. Even items like sugar, coffee and tobacco that the island once produced in large quantities are now being imported.
In recent months, Trump has often predicted the end of the Castro regime in remarks to the press.