Cuba Hits Back at Trump: ‘We Will Die Defending Cuba’

U.S. President Donald Trump says the United States may turn its focus back to Cuba after Iran. In a recent interview, Trump called the struggling communist island a “failing nation.”

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel responded with a stark warning during a sit-down interview with NBC News, saying there’s no “justification for the United States to launch a military aggression against Cuba.”

“An invasion of Cuba would have costs,” he said. “If that happens, there will be fighting, and there will be a struggle, and we will defend ourselves, and if we need to die, we’ll die, because as our national anthem says, ‘Dying for the homeland is to live.”

He added that while Cuba is open to dialogue, any decision to escalate would be “irrational” and dangerous for the region.

The exchange comes as Cuba faces one of its worst economic crises in decades. Severe fuel shortages have crippled transportation, forcing commuters onto bicycles and overcrowded buses. In some areas, power cuts last up to 22 hours a day, while tourism, a key source of income, has sharply declined, according to Reuters.

Despite the hardship and pressure from the U.S. for political reform, Díaz-Canel rejected calls for political change and blamed long-standing U.S. sanctions for the country’s struggles.