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By Tom O'Connor and Frances Mao
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Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel says the country will fight back with a guerrilla-style campaign if the U.S. launches a military attack, warning Washington that any operation would “result in immense losses” for both countries.
The Cuban leader issued the message in an exclusive interview with Newsweek in Havana on Friday - his first with a U.S. news outlet since 2023 - in response to President Donald Trump’s threats to “take” the communist island nation just 90 miles from Florida.
Trump's threats come as Cuba teeters on the brink of economic collapse, with 10 million citizens suffering daily blackouts amid a severe energy crisis exacerbated by the U.S. blockade of oil shipments to the island since January.
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The White House has justified its measures by arguing that Cuba poses “an unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security, citing Havana's communist policies, relations with Russia, China and Iran, and alleged ties to Hamas and Hezbollah. Cuban officials deny any connection to U.S.-designated terrorist organizations.
But the blockade has led to higher food prices, medicine shortages and rare anti-government protests. The Trump administration has openly speculated about U.S. intervention.
Following military operations in Venezuela and Iran this year, Trump said on separate occasions that Cuba would be "next” and he expected the "honor” of “taking Cuba in some form."
But Díaz-Canel on Friday said his country, while preferring dialogue, would defend itself to the hilt “with the participation of all the people” if the U.S. launched an attack.
“We will always strive to avoid war. We will always work for peace. But if military aggression occurs, we will fight back, we will battle, we will defend ourselves,” he said.
“And should we fall in battle, to die for the homeland is to live,” he added, evoking a slogan popularized by Fidel Castro and the Cuban revolutionaries’ guerrilla warfare.
The president acknowledged Cuba's position as a small nation locked in historical tensions with a superpower. But he invoked the country's "war of all the people" defensive doctrine, saying any U.S. military attack would “result in immense losses for both nations and peoples."
"The loss of life and material destruction would be incalculable," he warned. "Such an act of aggression would be extremely costly in every respect, and it is not what our peoples deserve.”
Asked about the Cuban leader's statements on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed them, saying: "I don’t think much about what he has to say". Rubio, a second-generation Cuban-American, has been a staunch critic of Cuba's communist government for years and has stepped up his calls in recent times for "change" in Havana.
During his interview with Newsweek, Díaz-Canel had noted the "maximum pressure" from U.S. officials. But he added that given Cuba's active pursuit for talks: “There is no pretext, no excuse for the United States to resort to military aggression as a way out to resolve our differences."
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“Cuba does not pose a threat to the United States—and much less an 'extraordinary and unusual' threat, as has been alleged,” he said referring to Trump’s order in January to impose tariffs on any country supplying oil to Cuba.
That decree, condemned by the U.N., has effectively stopped countries like Mexico from sending their usual shipments to Havana.
Cuba had previously been reliant on historical ally Venezuela for most of its oil imports but lost that lifeline in January after a U.S. military operation removed that country's leader and secured Washington control over Venezuelan oil production.
'Not Concerned For Personal Safety'
Díaz-Canel, who assumed office in 2018 as the first leader since the Cuban Revolution of 1959 to not be named Castro, also told Newsweek he wasn’t concerned for his own safety.
U.S. military actions in Trump’s second term have targeted the heads of state in Iran and Venezuela, with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei assassinated on the first day of U.S.-Israeli strikes and Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro seized from his palace in a U.S. special forces operation to face drug charges in New York.
Díaz-Canel said Cuba’s communist leadership would carry on, even in the event of his removal.
“I am not concerned about my personal safety,” the 65-year-old said. “The leadership of the Cuban state, party, and the revolution is collective. And decisions are made collectively.”
Such an approach, he argued, would also thwart any Trump administration attempts to establish collaboration with Cuban government insiders who might act as alternative leadership figures.
He called the Trump administration's "takeover" rhetoric “an entirely bellicose and aggressive stance” that was “far removed from what we proposed in our discussions with the United States.”
He emphasized his government was looking for a diplomatic solution “that would get us away from confrontation.”
Seeking Diplomacy
As the three-month fuel blockade has crippled essential services across the country, Cuba has had to rely on aid deliveries from the European Union, Canada, Mexico, China and other countries. Newsweek witnessed firsthand the growing humanitarian crisis in the country.
Díaz-Canel confirmed last month that Cuban and U.S. officials had begun talks to resolve their differences, but said on Friday it was “difficult". It was also unclear if any meaningful dialogue had been established.
“I think that dialogue is possible, and I think we can achieve some agreements, but it is difficult,” he said.
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Trump has said that Cuba is “desperate to do a deal," and said last week he had allowed through a sanctioned Russian tanker to deliver much-needed oil. Before then, U.S. naval ships had been forcibly escorting tankers away from Cuba. The White House said future shipments would be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
In response to Newsweek questions, a White House official said talks were underway with Cuba, "whose leaders want to make a deal and should make a deal, which President Trump believes 'would be very easily made'.
"Cuba is a failing nation whose rulers have had a major setback with the loss of support from Venezuela."
Cuban government officials also met with two members of Congress last week to appeal for an easing of the blockade, and to stave off what could be a third U.S. foreign military intervention this year, a policy unpopular among U.S. voters.
Díaz-Canel told Newsweek he hoped talks with the U.S. could proceed but only if they were “a respectful dialogue on equal footing” and “on the basis of reciprocity and compliance with international law.”
He said he believed it was possible, despite the historical blockade and sanctions program that has lasted six decades, and referenced the rapprochement achieved under former President Barack Obama's administration. Trump withdrew from those agreements in his first term.
“Dialogue is possible because at different times with other U.S. administrations, we've been able to engage in dialogue, and we have been able to discuss topics of common interest," he said.
But he noted “the current actions of the United States government: proposing supposed talks with other nations, only to subsequently attack those nations.
“All of this undoubtedly creates a state of mistrust among our people.”
Read Newsweek's full interview with the Cuban president here.
This article was updated at 10:56 ET to include new developments.
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