Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces gave famed singer Silvio Rodríguez an AKM rifle and a replica of one after Rodríguez said recently he would take up arms if Cuba came under attack, according to a video posted by President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s office on X on Friday.
In the video, Rodríguez is seen walking alongside Díaz-Canel and other officials dressed in military garb before standing at attention as Rodríguez receives the rifles and inspects them, the Associated Press reported.
The development followed what the AP described as Rodríguez’s March 18 remarks, when he wrote in the comments section of his blog: “I demand my AKM, if they launch an attack. And I mean it,” presumably referring to the United States.
Cuban officials said the ceremony took place in the context of the island’s National Defense Day and was intended as a response to Rodríguez’s “noble and revolutionary demand,” the AP reported.
Rodríguez is widely regarded as the poetic voice of the Cuban Revolution, and the AP said he inspired many people who lived under dictatorships in Latin America during the 1960s and 1970s.
The rifle-gifting episode arrives amid high tensions between Cuba and the United States. Díaz-Canel confirmed a week earlier that Cuba has held talks with the U.S. government, according to the AP report, and Donald Trump has also raised the prospect of U.S. action toward Cuba.
In late February, Trump raised the possibility of a “friendly takeover of Cuba.” Earlier this week, he said he expected to have the “honor” of “taking Cuba in some form,” adding: “I can do anything I want,” according to the AP.