Cuba is ready for a potential attack from US amid oil blockade: deputy foreign minister
2026.03.22 19:50 Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, Cuba’s deputy foreign minister. Photo: EPA Cuba is prepared for the unlikely possibility of a military engagement with the United States, Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio said over the weekend in response to US President Donald Trump’s threats to take over the Caribbean island nation. Havana and Washington entered talks earlier this month as an oil blockade imposed by Trump pushes the Communist-run nation deeper into economic crisis. Trump last week escalated his rhetoric against Cuba, saying he expected to have the “honour” of taking Cuba. “Our country has historically been ready to mobilise as a nation as a whole for military aggression … We don’t believe it is something that is probable but we would be naive if we do not prepare,” de Cossio told NBC’s Meet the Press in remarks broadcast on Sunday. “We don’t see why it would have to occur and we find no justification whatsoever.” Reports had suggested the Trump administration was seeking to remove Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel from power. De Cossio also said any suggestion of the nature, the structure, or members of the Cuban government being subject to negotiation in talks with the US is untrue. He added a regime change is “absolutely” off the table in discussions with the United States. The US military is not rehearsing for an invasion of Cuba or actively preparing to militarily take over the island, the top general overseeing American forces in Latin America told lawmakers on Thursday. Cubans in Aguacate put charcoal into a plastic container to fuel a modified 1980 Polish‑built Polski car, adapted to run on charcoal, a cheaper and more abundant alternative to petrol since the US cut off oil shipments to the island. Photo: Reuters Meanwhile, Cuba began restoring its energy system on Sunday, a day after a nationwide collapse of the entire grid left millions of people in the dark for the third time this month. Some 72,000 cus
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