Miguel Díaz-Canel celebrates the anniversary of the Declaration of the Socialist Revolution, which was threatened with US attack.
Published April 16, 2026
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said his country does not seek conflict with the United States but is ready to fight if necessary, as the country marks the anniversary of its socialist-revolutionary character amid threats of U.S. attack.
Díaz-Canel struck a defiant tone Thursday in his remarks to a crowd commemorating the 65th anniversary of Fidel Castro’s declaration of the socialist character of Cuba’s revolution and the day after U.S.-allied forces’ failed invasion at the Bay of Pigs.
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“These are extremely difficult times, which require us once again to be ready to confront serious threats, including military aggression, as we did on April 16, 1961,” Diaz-Canel said. “We don’t want it, but it is our duty to prepare to avoid it and, if it is unavoidable, to defeat it.”
President Donald Trump has threatened that the United States could overthrow Cuba’s government, a long-time source of anger for Washington, and is ratcheting up energy regulations aimed at squeezing Cuba’s economy.
President Trump said earlier this week that “I might stop by Cuba once this is over,” indicating that his focus may shift to Cuba after the war with Iran ends.
A U.S. energy blockade and suspension of oil shipments from Venezuela after the U.S. abducted former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January have contributed to the deteriorating situation on the island. Fuel shortages and energy blackouts have disrupted the island for weeks, putting a huge strain on workers and businesses.
Even before these restrictions were tightened, Cuba’s economy was suffering from decades of economic blockade by the United States, as well as economic mismanagement and political repression that drove many Cubans to leave the country.
A UN vote to end the US trade embargo in 2025 passed with 165 votes in favor and 7 votes against, including from the US, Israel, Argentina and Hungary. This resolution has been passed every year for over 30 years.
“Cuba is not a failed state. Cuba is a besieged state,” Díaz-Canel said Thursday. “Cuba is a nation facing multifaceted aggression, including an economic war, an intensified blockade, and an energy blockade.”
