Cuba’s president warns of ‘bloodbath’ if U.S. takes military action

Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel delivers a speech in March. The president has warned that a U.S. military assault on Cuba would cause a "bloodbath." (Adalberto Roque/Pool/AFP/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel warned Monday that a U.S. military assault on Cuba “will cause a bloodbath with incalculable consequences” amid renewed tension between Havana and Washington.

“Cuba poses no threat, nor does it have aggressive plans or intentions against any country. It has none against the U.S., nor has it ever had any, something the government of that nation knows well,” the leader said in a post on X.

Díaz-Canel added that Cuba “is already suffering a multidimensional aggression from the U.S.” and that it “has the absolute and legitimate right to defend itself against a military assault,” though he maintained that this “cannot logically or honestly be used as an excuse to impose a war against the noble Cuban people.”

Bilateral relations are at one of their lowest points in decades, with renewed pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump and a spiralling energy crisis on the communist-run island. Last week, Cuba’s energy minister said that a last-minute Russian oil donation had been exhausted, and that Cubans would have to endure more power cuts.

On Monday, the Trump administration announced new sanctions on the Cuban government, including its main intelligence agency and interior ministry. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that “additional sanctions actions can be expected in the following days and weeks.”

The U.S. also sanctioned 11 Cuban officials, including the Minister of Justice and the Deputy Minister of Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces.

Another blow to the island came Sunday, when Reuters reported that major shipping companies Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM will no longer ship to or from Cuba to comply with new Trump administration rules. CNN has reached out to both companies.

The move will likely add to food scarcity on the island. For decades, the collapse of Cuba’s agricultural sector and economic mismanagement has meant the government has imported much of the food the island consumes. Even items like sugar, coffee and tobacco that the island once produced in large quantities are now being imported.

In recent months, Trump has often predicted the end of the Castro regime in remarks to the press.

“I think they’re going to have to come to us,” Trump told Fox News in an interview aired on Friday. “It’s a failed nation. It’s a totally failed nation.”

Beyond the longstanding economic embargo and an oil blockade that has pushed the island’s energy crisis to its limits, the United States is preparing an indictment against former president Raúl Castro, according to sources. The indictment would mark a significant escalation in the U.S. stance against the Cuban government.

On Friday, Trump declined to comment on the possible case against Castro, saying that he will let the U.S. Justice Department “comment on it, but they (Cubans) need help, as you know.”

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said on Monday on X that Cuba “has the right to legitimate self-defense against any external aggression.”

“Those who seek to illegitimately attack Cuba resort to any pretext, no matter how deceitful and ridiculous, to justify an attack that runs contrary to U.S. and world public opinion,” the official wrote.

The day before, Rodríguez wrote that the Trump administration “builds, day after day, a fraudulent case to justify the ruthless economic war against the Cuban people and eventual military aggression.”

The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John Ratcliffe travelled to Havana last week for a rare meeting with officials from the Ministry of the Interior and heads of the island’s intelligence services.

For many Cubans, a potential U.S. military attack feels imminent, and they are taking preparations accordingly.

In anticipation of such a scenario, over the past few days Cuba’s Civil Defense has circulated “a family guide on how to act during a hypothetical military aggression against Cuba,” recommending, among other things, preparing a backpack with non-perishable items.

The guide urges people to stay alert to air raid sirens and is titled “Protect, Resist, Survive, and Prevail.”

By Gonzalo Zegarra, Patrick Oppmann, CNN

CNN’s Jennifer Hansler contributed reporting.