Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez on Tuesday, 6 May 2025, denounced as "cynical and hypocritical" the United States' threat to use military force to "liberate" Cuba, calling it an affront after more than six decades of economic, commercial, and financial embargo imposed by Washington. The remarks came in direct response to statements by US President Donald Trump, who had suggested American forces could move on Cuba after concluding engagements in the Middle East.

Rodriguez's Rebuke on X

"The US government insists in hinting at a military action against Cuba because 'the country is devastated... and it would be an honor to liberate it,'" Rodriguez wrote on X. He argued that Washington bore direct responsibility for that devastation through its own economic war. "The cynical and hypocritical thing about it is that the US has spent decades trying to devastate the country with an economic war," he added.

Rodriguez further alleged that the current US administration had intensified the blockade in recent months through what he described as "genocidal" executive orders. He characterised the economic blockade, energy siege, extraterritorial coercive measures, and any military threat as "international crimes."

Trump's Remarks That Triggered the Response

Speaking at a recent event in Palm Beach, Florida, President Donald Trump said the United States would take control of Cuba "almost immediately" after "finishing a job" — a reference to the ongoing conflict with Iran in the Middle East, according to Xinhua news agency. Trump also reportedly threatened to position the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln approximately 100 yards off Cuba's coast upon its return from the region.

Diaz-Canel's Defiant Stand

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Saturday urged the international community and the American public to reject what he described as a criminal act serving the interests of "a small but wealthy and influential group" seeking revenge and domination. "No aggressor, however powerful, will find surrender in Cuba," Diaz-Canel wrote on X. "They will encounter a people determined to defend sovereignty and independence in every inch of national territory."

Broader Context and What's Next

This comes amid a long-running standoff between Washington and Havana that has defined Caribbean geopolitics for over six decades. The US embargo on Cuba, first imposed in the early 1960s, remains one of the longest-running economic blockades in modern history. Cuba has consistently framed the embargo as the primary cause of its economic difficulties, while successive US administrations have maintained it as leverage for political reform. Notably, the Trump administration's reported escalation through new executive orders marks a sharper turn from the limited thaw seen during the Obama era. The international community, including the United Nations, has repeatedly voted to condemn the embargo. How Washington responds to Havana's pushback — and whether the USS Abraham Lincoln's deployment materialises — will be closely watched in the coming weeks.