Cuba vows 'unbreakable resistance' to any takeover attempt

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has responded to takeover threats from Donald Trump, saying that the US would face "unbreakable resistance" if it tried to seize the country.

His remarks come as Cuba struggles with a multitude of economic woes largely brought about by pressure from the US, which is trying to cut off the flow of foreign currency and oil to the Caribbean island.

What did Diaz Canel say about the Cuba takeover threat?

In his comments on X, Diaz-Canel accused the US of threatening "almost daily" to overthrow his country's constitutional order by force, using as its pretext a weakened economy that Washington itself had "attacked and sought to isolate for more than six decades."

He said the takeover plans were the only explanation of "the ferocious economic war that is applied as a collective punishment against the entire people."

"Faced with the worst-case scenario, Cuba has one guarantee: any external aggressor will encounter an unbreakable resistance," he wrote.

What has the US said on Cuba?

On Monday, Trump told reporters he thought he would have the "honor of taking Cuba."

"Whether I free it, take it, I think I can do anything I want with it," Trump continued.

"They're a very weakened nation right now," he said. "It's a failed nation. They have no money, they have no oil, they have no nothing."

He doubled down on the remarks on Tuesday, telling reporters that "Cuba right now is in very bad shape."

"And we’ll be doing something with Cuba very soon," he added.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Cuba's decision announced this week to let exiles invest and own businesses did not go far enough to establish the free-market reforms that the Trump administration is demanding.

The threats against Cuba by the second Trump administration are in keeping with plans it has announced to bolster Washington's regional dominance.

Following the 2026 strikes in Venezuela, which led to the capture of its president, Nicolas Maduro, Trump stated that "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."

Cuba has just emerged from a long blackout Image: Norlys Perez/REUTERS

What is the situation in Cuba?

Communist Cuba is in the grips of one of its most severe economic crises since the revolution led by Fidel Castro in 1959.

Cuba's economy has been weakened for decades by a US trade embargo, but recent US actions have exacerbated the situation.

Among other things, Cuba has just managed to end a more than 29-hour energy blackout, the cause of which has not been announced.

The blackout was the first since the US cut off Cuba's oil supply from Venezuela, one of Havana's most important allies, which had long supported the island, particularly with oil supplies.

Cuba and the United States have opened talks aimed at defusing ​the crisis.

Neither side has provided details of the ongoing negotiations, but Trump has portrayed Cuba as desperate to make a deal.

Edited by: Karl Sexton