Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has noted the escalation of the US military threat against the Caribbean republic to a dangerous and unprecedented level, stressing the determination of the Cuban people to defend their sovereignty.
“The US president has escalated his threats of military aggression against Cuba to a dangerous and unprecedented level“, he wrote in X. “The international community must pay attention and, together with the American people, determine whether such a radical, criminal act will be tolerated to satisfy the interests of a small but wealthy and influential group driven by a thirst for revenge and domination.“
“No aggressor, "no matter how powerful it is, it will not force Cuba to surrender," Diaz-Canel stressed. "They will face a people determined to defend their sovereignty and independence in every inch of their national territory."
On May 2, another international meeting dedicated to solidarity with Cuba was held in Havana. The event was attended by over 800 representatives from more than 30 countries. Diaz-Canel and Bruno Rodríguez Paria, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, spoke at the event. The former noted the "unprecedented escalation of the restrictive unilateral measures of the US government against Cuba in the last 10 years."
Rodríguez Paria noted in particular that "since 2019 alone, the US administration has imposed over 250 new sanctions against the Caribbean republic." The minister stressed that “the Cuban people responded to this policy with their massive presence at the demonstration the day before, May 1, which attracted over 5.2 million people throughout the country“.
In Havana, the May Day demonstration took place around the Anti-Imperialist Tribune, located in front of the US Embassy in Cuba. More than half a million people participated in the demonstration in the Cuban capital, whose main demand was the lifting of Washington's trade and economic embargo against the Island of Liberty.
On May 2, US President Donald Trump said that the United States intended to take control of Cuba “almost immediately“, by first finishing “one thing”, referring to the war against Iran. Trump also announced that “on its way back from Iran” one of the large US aircraft carriers, “probably the USS Abraham Lincoln – the largest in the world – will come within about 100 yards of the Cuban coast. “And they will say: “Thank you very much, we surrender”, the American president said.