Havana .- Cuba’s President, Miguel Díaz-Canel, highlighted in an interview published this Friday by the Russian media RT that on the island «there is a people willing to fight», when asked about a possible military action by the U.S.
Díaz-Canel avoided making comparisons with the case of Venezuela, because it is “a sister nation”, but highlighted “the strength of unity” of his country and his certainty that on the island “millions of Cubans” would be willing – in case of aggression – to fight “to save the revolution and to defend Cuban soil”.
The president recalled the decades of U.S. sanctions that his country has suffered and indicated that Cuba has not managed to advance as much as desired for this reason. “We have even been able to advance, although we have not achieved everything we have dreamed of and everything we have wanted, precisely because of the implications and limitations imposed by the blockade,” he indicated.
Fotografía de archivo de vehículos circulando frente al Capitolio cubano, en La Habana (Cuba). EFE/ Ernesto Mastrascusa
Díaz-Canel also advanced reforms in the Cuban Government in the first half of this year that would help reduce the number of ministries and state-owned companies, as well as reduce state bureaucracy.
«We are also considering a resizing of the entire state, administrative and business apparatus,» explained the president, highlighting that they are looking for «flatter and more efficient, more dynamic» structures.
The United States has demanded profound economic reforms from Cuba, alleging that the current centralized and statist system does not work, and has belittled some changes announced in recent weeks, such as those related to allowing investments from Cubans residing abroad.
Díaz-Canel once again thanked Russia for the arrival at the end of March of an oil tanker with 100,000 tons of crude oil, the first tanker to enter the island since the beginning of January due to the energy blockade imposed by the U.S. on the island.
The U.S. has increased pressure on Cuba since the beginning of January, demanding political changes and, above all, an opening of the economy. Díaz-Canel acknowledged in March a bilateral “dialogue” in an initial phase and since then no further details have been given about these contacts.
Tension, however, has escalated between both parties in the last week, with reports that the Pentagon was preparing plans for a military action on the island and statements by Díaz-Canel warning about the possibility of an attack and calling on the people to be “ready”.
