HAVANA (AP) 鈥� Cuban President said Thursday that while does not want military aggression from the United States, his country is prepared to fight should it happen.
顿铆补锄-颁补苍别濒 spoke during a rally that drew hundreds of people to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the declaration of the Cuban Revolution鈥檚 socialist essence.
鈥淭he moment is extremely challenging and calls upon us once again, as on April 16, 1961, to be ready to confront serious threats, including military aggression. We do not want it, but it is our duty to prepare to avoid it and, if it becomes inevitable, to defeat it,鈥� 顿铆补锄-颁补苍别濒 said.
He spoke as between the two countries, with as a result of a U.S. energy blockade.
Earlier this week, Trump said his administration could focus on Cuba after the ends.
鈥淲e may stop by Cuba after we finish with this,鈥� he said. He described it as a 鈥渇ailing nation鈥� and asserted that it鈥檚 鈥渂een a terribly run country for a long time.鈥�
Trump previously has threatened to intervene in Cuba, like he did in early January when and halted key oil shipments from the South American country.
Weeks later, Trump on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba.
Both Trump and U.S. Secretary of State 鈥� whose parents emigrated from Cuba in the 1950s before the revolution 鈥� have described the island鈥檚 government as ineffective and abusive. The U.S. demands on Cuba’s government in return for easing sanctions have included an end to political repression, a release of political prisoners and a liberalization of the island’s ailing economy.
顿铆补锄-颁补苍别濒 accused them of trying to construct a 鈥渘arrative鈥� that has no justification.
鈥淐uba is not a failed state. Cuba is a besieged state. Cuba is a state facing multidimensional aggression: economic warfare, an intensified blockade and an energy blockade,鈥� said 顿铆补锄-颁补苍别濒, the main speaker at Thursday鈥檚 rally.
鈥淐uba is a threatened state that does not surrender. And despite everything. And thanks to socialism. Cuba is a state that resists, creates, and make no mistake, a state that will prevail,鈥� added.
Both Cuba and the U.S. to resolve the tension, but no details have been disclosed.
The Cuban president recalled the achievements made possible by the revolution and its social welfare system, which allows for free education that has trained thousands of professionals, many of whom due to the country’s economic crisis.
The oil embargo imposed by Trump worsened the brought on by an economic crisis that has lasted for five years, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and a tightening of U.S. sanctions aimed at pressuring for a change in the island鈥檚 political model.
Experts have warned of a humanitarian crisis.
Measures to prevent the island from acquiring oil from its Venezuelan, Mexican and Russian suppliers are exacerbating the already poor living conditions of the population, including and fuel shortages.
The rally commemorated the 65th anniversary of a historic speech by the late leader, , during a crisis with the United States. That moment marked the ideological course the Caribbean nation would take and its opposition to Washington鈥檚 continental hegemony.
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