Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said the United States has no valid reason to attack Cuba or attempt to depose him, warning that any such move would face resistance from Cubans and could raise wider regional security concerns. Speaking in an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” the president said the United States would have no justification for a military attack or for actions aimed at removing him from office, describing such steps as aggression that Cuba’s leadership and people would oppose.
Díaz-Canel said that if the “time comes,” he does not think there would be justification for U.S. “military aggression against Cuba,” or for what he characterized as a “surgical operation” or “the kidnapping of a president.” He added that any attack would lead to “fighting” and a “struggle,” and he said Cubans would defend themselves, quoting the national anthem line: “Dying for the homeland is to live.”
He also said an invasion would be costly and would affect regional security, arguing that the United States would be acting without a legitimate basis for such a move. The interview comes as tensions between Cuba and the United States remain high while both sides acknowledged talks, with no details of those discussions publicly shared.
Díaz-Canel has previously accused the U.S. government of carrying out a “hostile policy” toward Cuba and said it has “no moral to demand anything from Cuba.” In the “Meet the Press” interview, he said Cuba is interested in dialogue and discussing topics without conditions, adding that Cuba does not demand changes from the American political system, which he said Cuba views with doubts.
He described Cuba’s worsening economic and social situation in part through the lens of energy supply constraints, blaming a U.S. energy “blockade” for deepening woes, including a shortage of petroleum that affects Cuba’s health system, public transportation and the production of goods and services. Díaz-Canel said Cuba produces only 40% of the fuel it consumes.
The president said Cuba stopped receiving key oil shipments from Venezuela after the United States attacked Venezuela in early January, seized President Nicolás Maduro, and took him to New York to face drug trafficking charges. He said that after that, and with cooperation from ruling party leaders, the Trump administration began implementing a phased plan to address Venezuela’s crisis.
Díaz-Canel pointed to changes in Cuba’s oil supply as well, saying a Russian tanker arrived in March carrying 730,000 barrels of crude oil and marked Cuba’s first oil shipment in three months. He said Russia promised to send a second tanker, and he noted that despite tariff threats in January on countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba, the Trump administration allowed the tanker to proceed.
The interview also referenced Trump’s prior remarks about Cuba and oil access. Díaz-Canel said his government took Trump’s comments as a warning, including Trump’s assertion that “Cuba’s finished” and that even if Cuba received a boat of oil, it would not “matter,” which Díaz-Canel described as signals that Cuba could be “next.”
“You hear that Cuba is next, that Cuba is going to be next,” Díaz-Canel said, adding that such messaging creates an expectation that “they’re going to take over Cuba.” He said the leadership views the prospect as a warning and that they need to “responsibly protect our people, protect our project and protect our country.”