Cuba warns the US that they "will provoke a bloodbath" if they attack the island
President Díaz-Canel answers after a leak of US intelligence about a supposed threat of drone attacks from Havana
WashingtonThe president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, has warned that a military attack by the United States on the island "will provoke a bloodbath with incalculable consequences". Díaz-Canel said this Monday amid the new escalation of tension between Washington and Havana after US intelligence leaked a report this weekend claiming that the Cuban government has acquired more than 300 military drones. The information, published by Axios, states that the island poses a threat amid the US energy siege affecting more than 60% of Cubans.
"Cuba does not represent any threat, nor does it have plans or aggressive intentions against any country. It has none against the US, nor has it ever had any, which the government of this nation knows," the leader wrote in a post on X. Díaz-Canel recalled that the island "is already suffering a multidimensional aggression from the US" and that it "has the absolute and legitimate right to defend itself from a military assault," although he recalled that this logic is not sufficient to be used as an "excuse to impose a war on the noble Cuban people".
The intelligence report leaked to Axios stated that the Cuban regime has raised the possibility of using the drones to attack the US base at Guantánamo (which is on the island), US military vessels, and possibly the island of Key West, located on the Florida peninsula, just 145 kilometers from Havana.
More US pressure
The episode of the alleged drones increases the pressure that the island has been suffering for months and further complicates the relationship between the two countries. Beyond Donald Trump's insinuations about a possible military action, the US administration has tightened the siege on Cuba. Two weeks ago, the State Department announced a new package of sanctions against Gaesa, the conglomerate that constitutes the economic arm of the Cuban army.
It has also become known that the US Department of Justice is investigating whether it can indict former President Raúl Castro. Among the charges for which the 94-year-old man is being investigated are the case of two planes shot down by the Cuban army in 1996, which belonged to the organization of exiled Cuban-Americans Brothers to the Rescue. The accusations have aroused suspicions: Trump based himself on an accusation written by his Justice Ministry against Nicolás Maduro to justify the assault on Venezuela and the capture of the leader.
The possible accusation against Castro was also leaked at a convenient time: a few days after CIA Director, John Ratcliffe, visited Havana last week. The extraordinary visit was shared by the White House itself, although no details of the meeting were offered. In exchange for easing the energy siege they apply against the island, the US demands a restructuring of the Cuban government.