BREAKING: Cuba’s President Says Nation Does Not Seek War With US but Is Prepared to Fight if Attacked

According to a report by ABC News on Thursday, April 16, 2026, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has declared that Cuba has no desire for military confrontation with the United States, but insisted the country is fully prepared to defend itself if necessary.

He made the remarks on Thursday during a mass rally in Havana marking the 65th anniversary of the declaration of the Cuban Revolution’s socialist character. The event drew hundreds of participants and was held in a politically symbolic atmosphere of renewed tension between Havana and Washington.

Díaz-Canel told the gathering that the current global and regional climate demands heightened vigilance, recalling historical moments of confrontation between Cuba and the United States.

“The moment is extremely challenging and once again calls on us, as on April 16, 1961, to be ready to confront serious threats, including military aggression,” he said. “We do not want it, but it is our duty to prepare to prevent it, and if it becomes unavoidable, to defeat it.”

The Cuban leader framed his comments within a broader message of resistance, describing the island nation as facing sustained external pressure, particularly from the United States. He argued that Cuba is being subjected to what he called economic and energy constraints that have worsened living conditions on the island.

His remarks come amid escalating diplomatic friction between Havana and Washington, with U.S. President Donald Trump recently suggesting that Cuba could become a focus of American policy attention after ongoing international conflicts are resolved. Trump has also described the country in critical terms, accusing it of long-term economic mismanagement.

Díaz-Canel rejected such characterisations, insisting that Cuba is not a failed state but rather a nation under sustained external pressure. He said the country is facing what he termed a “multidimensional blockade,” including financial restrictions and limitations on energy imports that have contributed to widespread shortages and prolonged power disruptions.

“Cuba is not a failed state. Cuba is a besieged state,” he said. “It is a nation subjected to economic warfare, intensified restrictions, and energy constraints. But it is also a country that resists, creates, and will prevail.”

The Cuban president also criticised what he described as attempts to shape international opinion against his government, arguing that such narratives misrepresent the country’s reality and political system.