Economic Collapse and Surrender Are Not in Cuban Vocabulary President Says
Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the
Republic of Cuba, addressed the national and foreign media at the
Palace of the Revolution on February 5. From the very first question
posed by reporters, through to the end
of the press conference, Díaz-Canel demonstrated the mettle of
the Cuban people, rejecting the U.S. narrative that Cuba is in economic
collapse. He brought to the fore measures being taken for the
mobilization of the nation to safeguard the Revolution and face head-on
the hardships caused by decades
of the U.S. blockade, and now the siege and threats of intervention.
"I believe that the theory of collapse and the insistence on collapse is closely related to the theory of the failed state and to a whole group of [constructs] with which the United States Government has tried to characterize the Cuban situation," he said. "There is no failed state," he said adding that what there is, is "a State that has had to face with much resistance the maximum pressures [...] for economic suffocation by the main power of the world." Moreover, he said, "this is a power that has an imperial [foundation] and a hegemonic purpose of domination." The talk of "collapse," he said, "is in the outlook, in the imperial philosophy, but it is not in the mentality of the Cuban people."
"I am not an idealist," Díaz-Canel said. "I know that we are going to live difficult times, we have lived through difficult times, these in particular are very difficult, but we will overcome them [together], with creative resistance, with the effort and with the talent of all Cubans [working together]."
On Cuba-Venezuela Relations
Díaz-Canel rejected the U.S. logic that Cuba's relation with Venezuela is one of dependency. "Many try to see it as a relationship of dependence between two countries, and with that what they do is restrict it, reduce it to an exchange of goods and services, and that is not the reality of the relationship we have had with the Bolivarian Revolution." He explained that "Since Chávez led the Bolivarian Revolution, a whole relationship of cooperation, of collaboration has been woven, based on principles of solidarity, above all, of integration, of complementarity: how two brotherly countries, friends, could take advantage of the potential of each other according to that integration, to that complementarity. That is why the Comprehensive Collaboration Agreement between Cuba and Venezuela emerged more than 25 years ago."
Díaz-Canel noted that four years after that Agreement, the free trade agreement the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (the Peoples' Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP)) emerged in 2004, which brought the conceptions of that relationship to a group of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. ALBA-TCP supported Petrocaribe, he said, "which was a group of projects also with an energy approach, but with a focus on social aims, social justice, equity, opportunities and the benefit and development of peoples, not only of Venezuela and Cuba, but of Latin America and the Caribbean." It reflected "the concept of integration, the integration that Martí dreamed of, that Bolívar dreamed of, and that Fidel and Chávez defended, and to which all of us are committed." The social successes that ALBA-TCP achieved were born as part of that close relationship between Cuba and Venezuela, Díaz-Canel said.
By way of concrete examples, he spoke of the Miracle Mission project which restored vision to more than 3.5 million Latin Americans. He also spoke of literacy accomplishments noting that since Cuba declared itself the first territory free of illiteracy in Latin America and the Caribbean, four other countries have now also achieve this benchmark. "[T]hey could achieve it," he said, "precisely because that concept of complementarity and integration in a system of relationships is not based on selfishness, but precisely on these concepts, which are humanistic concepts, concepts of an approach of leaving no one behind."
It is precisely these human-centred concepts and values promoted in the region which the U.S. is striving to obscure and destroy by belittling the sisterly and revolutionary relations between Cuba and Venezuela, by claiming that Cuba is merely dependent on Venezuelan oil. Díaz-Canel acknowledged the economic and commercial relations, that take the form of very important collaborative projects. One of these, "especially in energy, for the provision of medical services, compensated a significant part of the needs for fuel, not all, but an important part, especially in the most recent times, [but] Venezuela has always been subjected to coercive measures, under pressures and that has also affected that exchange."
Oil Blockade -- Cuba Is Not Alone
Díaz-Canel went on to speak about the U.S. "naval blockade of Venezuela, which has prevented Venezuelan ships or ships from other countries with Venezuelan fuel from reaching Cuba." He said that it "is stepped up even more with the Executive Order of the Government of the United States in recent days, manipulating countries that supply oil through the threat of tariffs, which practically is the pretext that has made it an energy blockade of our country."
Cuba, however, is not isolated or alone, Díaz-Canel said. He spoke of the immediate international condemnation from Russia, China, and other international leaders, movements and countries targeted by the U.S. Executive Order that is aimed at suffocating Cuba's economy by means of an energy blockade. Support has not been confined to statements but exists in concrete measures, "things that we cannot explain openly today," he said, "because the enemy is targeting all the paths that can be opened to Cuba, but I can assure you with every sense of responsibility that Cuba is not alone, and that at a time like this there are many people, governments, countries, institutions, companies that are willing to work with Cuba."
U.S. Unconventional Warfare Demands Global Response
Díaz-Canel wrapped up this portion of the press conference saying: "Every time one observes what is happening, the learnings and lessons that we have been able to draw in these days from what happened in Venezuela and from the reaction after Venezuela of the United States Government to Cuba and to others, one thinks about what the world could do, because I believe that the world cannot allow itself to be overwhelmed, the world cannot allow itself to be humiliated, the world cannot allow itself to be crushed by force. I think that on issues like this the first thing is that we have to understand, countries have to understand, peoples have to understand what is happening. They have to understand that we are all facing in the world, without exception, a war that is political, that is ideological, a war that also has a cultural component and a war that has a communication component, a media component. And it is the concept of an unconventional war, of a fourth-generation war that combines all these elements and others. [...]
"So I think that the first thing that the people, the governments, the countries, the nations, the Global South have to understand is this -- they have to understand what is in dispute, what are the scenarios in which that dispute unfolds, what future is being offered to us out of this very brutal present, and then look for articulation, for unity."
"Seeking unity cannot be only of discourse," Díaz-Canel said. "It has to also be a unity of action, of constant denunciation, of seeking all possible integration into blocs or in fronts defending ideas, also seeking economic, commercial, cooperative, collaborative actions that defend multilateralism. [...]
"They are acting as if they were the Hitlerite hordes when a country is attacked, when the world is subjugated, when a president is kidnapped or when criminal actions are committed against ships, against people extra judicially, without any element of legality."
Cuba Is Ready to Confront U.S. Military Aggression
Cuba takes the threat of U.S. aggression seriously, Díaz-Canel said. It is prepared and mobilizing and does not suffer the pessimism of those who when faced with "that annexationist swarm that we have out there [...] begin to falter, of those who begin to show cowardice or weakness in the face of the pressures and psychological war they are waging against us, in the face of the announcements of a possible military aggression or of continuing to intensify the blockade of Cuba with the consequences that it can bring for our people." He reiterated that reality shows that Cuba is a country of peace and is not a threat to the United States, whereas "the one who is constantly talking about aggression [...] has been the United States Government."
"[W]e did the analyses," Díaz-Canel said, "of everything that had been happening: of the events of January 3 in Venezuela, of the implications for the area of Latin America and the Caribbean, the threats in the region and the threats to Cuba. One of the priorities that we established was to deploy a Preparedness Plan for defence in the interest of a People's War, which includes the preparation of the territorial defensive system of our country in all its links, from the national defence zone [...] This is legitimate and even contemplated in our Constitution.
"We have declared Saturdays to be national days of defence and then, gradually and systematically, all the components of our territorial defensive system are being prepared [...] We updated all the plans to deal with an aggression of the National Defense Council's working bodies; we updated them, we include clarifications that have to do with the experiences we have gained from the latest conflicts at the international level. [...]
"We updated the Plan for the move to a State of War, if necessary. [...] The note from the Defense Council that was published said exactly this: 'In compliance with the activities planned for Defense Day and with the objective of increasing and perfecting the level of preparation and cohesion of the management bodies and staff, this Saturday [January 31] the National Defense Council met to analyze and approve the plans and measures for the transition to a State of War, as part of the preparation of the country under the strategic conception of the War of All the People.' It is not saying that we declared a State of War; it is saying that we are preparing if we have to go into a State of War, at some point. [...] And our people are participating. I have visited military units where we have done exercises. I have shared with university students who have also undertaken defence tasks in defence zones of the municipality, and we are going to continue participating systematically in this type of activity."
Cuba Is Not a Terrorist State
Díaz-Canel gave a clear evidence-based response when asked about the U.S. having Cuba on a list of states that support terrorism. He reiterated the well known historical facts about U.S. assassination attempts against Fidel, the 1976 bombing of the Cubana de Aviación plane and other examples. He then said, "Cuba is not a terrorist country. Cuba is also not a threat to the security of the United States. Cuba has never carried out or proposed or armed an aggressive action that endangers the territorial integrity, or the security or stability of the Government of the United States. We do not protect terrorists. There are no military forces in Cuba from other nations or other groups. There are no military bases from other countries in Cuba. We have military cooperation and military cooperation agreements with friendly countries, with allies; but that in no way means that there are military bases in Cuba."
He posed the question as to which country has military bases around the world; that stands out for supporting state terrorism in the world; that committed aggression against Venezuela and kidnapped its president; that supports the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza; that attacks and disappears boats along with people -- in an extrajudicial manner -- that have not been proven to be linked to drug trafficking, without investigations, without evidence. Are these not acts of terrorism, Díaz-Canel asked. Which is the main state in the world that poses a danger to the security of the world, to the peace of the world? It is the United States, he said.
Díaz-Canel went on to discuss measures being taken to cope with electricity shortages and the steady progress being made in the expansion of renewable power generation, including using renewable energy to bring electricity to the most remote communities situated in difficult terrain; developing self sufficiency in food production. He discussed as well the responsibilities and leading role of the organizations of the Communist Party of Cuba in mobilizing the population to face head-on the difficulties caused by the U.S. blockade aimed at suffocating the Cuban economy and revolution.
(Granma)
This article was published in
Volume 56 Number 4 - February 13, 2026
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/TML2026/Articles/T560045.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca