Cuba’s leader has rejected President Donald Trump’s demands for the Caribbean nation to “work out a deal” with the US government, as the US president warned that Havana would be cut off from Venezuelan oil and funds that Havana has relied on for decades.
“No one will dictate what we do,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on the X broadcaster on Sunday, responding to President Trump’s insistence that the communist country strike a deal “before it’s too late.”
Cuba has long received huge amounts of aid from oil-rich Venezuela, but the detention of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro during a U.S. operation and President Trump’s announcement that Venezuela would hand over 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S. are expected to leave Havana with economic challenges.
“Cuba has been living off tons of oil and money from Venezuela for years. In return, Cuba provided ‘security services’ to Venezuela’s last two dictators, but nothing more!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.
“There’s no more oil or money going to Cuba!” he said before seeking an agreement. President Trump did not elaborate on what a deal with Havana might include.
The Cuban government announced that 32 people died in “acts of hostility” during the U.S. operation to capture Maduro.
Diaz-Canel quickly rejected outside interference in Cuba’s affairs.
“Cuba has not been invaded. We have been invaded by the United States for 66 years, but we have not threatened it. We are prepared and ready to defend our homeland to the drop of our blood,” Diaz-Canel said.
In an apparent reference to President Trump, he said those who turn everything into business, “even human lives,” have no moral authority to criticize his country.
Earlier, Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez asserted the country’s “absolute right” to import fuel from economic partners without U.S. intervention, rejecting President Trump’s claims that Cuba was trading security services for Venezuelan oil and gold.
“The United States is behaving like a criminal, out-of-control hegemon that threatens not only Cuba and this hemisphere, but the peace and security of the entire world,” Rodriguez said.
In subsequent comments aboard Air Force One, Trump told reporters the United States was “in talks with Cuba,” although it was not immediately clear at what level the discussions were taking place.
In his comments, President Trump said one of the topics he wanted to address was “people of Cuban origin who have been removed or forcibly left behind.”
Díaz-Canel said on Monday that Cuba had not held any discussions with the U.S. government other than “technical contacts” regarding immigration. He blamed the U.S. blockade of Cuba in part for forcing Cubans into the United States, calling it a “failed policy.”
“We are always ready to engage in serious and responsible dialogue with the various governments of the United States, including the current government, on the basis of sovereign equality, mutual respect, principles of international law, and mutual interests without interference in internal affairs, and with full respect for our independence,” he said.
The United States has long wanted to change the government in communist Cuba, which has been ruled by a socialist political system since 1961 based on the principle of “one nation, one party.”
A key proponent of regime change within the Trump administration is Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The son of Cuban immigrants, he came of age immersed in Miami’s exile community and rose politically in a culture where memories of the island and deep fears of socialism remained powerful forces.
Havana residents have expressed mixed reactions following President Trump’s threat to halt Venezuelan oil shipments to Havana.
Paola Pérez told Reuters that Cuba was not responsible for the relationship between the United States and Venezuela, but that Cuba “will be affected quite significantly.”
“He (President Trump) knows very well that he cannot continue to take over Cuba, so he has to find a solution,” she added.
Another resident, Luis Alberto Jimenez, said he was not intimidated by President Trump’s threat to cut off Cuba’s oil supplies.
“I’m never scared because I’m ready,” he said. “The Cuban people are prepared for anything and everything that could happen. We are ready for it too.”
“The whole committee has to take the decision, because it is the people who are suffering,” María Elena Sabina told Reuters, calling for swift action to alleviate the shortage on the island.
“There’s no electricity here, there’s no electricity, there’s no gas, there’s no liquefied gas. There’s nothing here. So… where is the oil that Venezuela and Mexico were sending?”
CNN’s Steve Contorno and Julia Benbrook contributed to this report.
