Cubans have lined up and signed up for President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s “My signature for the Homeland” campaign since it began April 19, an effort supporters describe as a public warning to Washington as U.S.-Cuba tensions escalate. The campaign has been promoted as a message of national sovereignty and readiness to defend the island, even as many Cubans face worsening hunger and poverty, according to critics who have posted objections online.
Supporters say the initiative is a response to what they view as intensifying pressure and threats from the United States. In Havana, Rodolfo Ruiz, 64, who sells sunglasses and other items from his home, said he signed last week because of President Donald Trump’s ongoing comments about Cuba. Ruiz said the signatures were so Trump would “hear and know that we are willing to defend our sovereignty,” adding: “Watch out, Trump. Think before you invade Cuba, think carefully. The people are prepared.”
The campaign comes after Trump signed an executive order in January asserting that Cuba’s government “constitute[s] an unusual and extraordinary threat,” a move Cuban officials have repeatedly scoffed at. The AP report also said Trump has referred to Cuba as a “failing nation” and suggested a “friendly takeover,” while in mid-April he told reporters that “We may stop by Cuba after we’re finished with this,” referring to the war in Iran.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also weighed in, calling for “new people in charge” of Cuba, a stance the Cuban government disputed. Bruno Rodríguez, Cuba’s foreign affairs minister, wrote on X that it was “absurd” for the State Department to claim that Cuba—a “relatively small, developing country subjected to a brutal economic war”—could pose a threat to the United States’ “greatest military, technological, and economic power.”
Cuban officials have said they do not want military aggression, but have also argued that Cuba must be ready to prevent it. Díaz-Canel has said Cuba has a duty to prepare to avoid aggression and, if necessary, defeat it, the AP report said. The signature drive is part of Cuba’s broader messaging as it rejects what the Trump administration has demanded, including the release of political prisoners, major economic reforms, and changes in governance.
In Havana, Delfina Hernández, who runs a community center with her husband, said she would stand “shoulder-to-shoulder” with other Cubans to fight a U.S. energy blockade, which she described as a sharpening of longtime U.S. sanctions and an “imperialist threat.” The report said the center received sheets of paper and opened its doors for people over 16 to sign for three days last week, with Hernández described as the first to sign. Hernández said, “Cuba is something very sacred to us,” and added, “We are well-armed, and the people of Cuba will fight to the very end. We are going to hit them — and with everything we’ve got.”
Criticism has spread quickly on social media, with opponents arguing that the “homeland” campaign has not delivered for them and questioning the campaign’s goals. Some said the government should allow people to sign in favor of demands such as the ability to choose their president. Alberto Olivera, a visual artist and Hernández’s husband, questioned how Cuba poses a threat to the United States, saying: “If it’s a failed revolution, then leave us alone,” and Hernández responded, “What do they care?” The report said Olivera recognized unmet needs and said he has been hungry at times, while both argued that U.S. “pressure cooker” tactics would not work.
The AP report said Cuba’s government has been gathering signatures at workplaces and neighborhoods across the island, which has nearly 10 million people, and has not said how many signatures it has collected. In a statement, Cuba said the signatures are meant to condemn “the U.S. blockade and economic war against Cuba,” which it called a “genocidal act,” and to repudiate threats of military aggression while upholding Cubans’ “inalienable right … to live in peace.”