Cuban President says country has a legitimate right to defend itself

Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez taking part in defense preperation drills in March, 2026 -- image via the PCC

With elements within the US administration and media making increasingly unhinged and ludicrous accusations against Cuba in an effort to build a case for military attack, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez took to X on Monday, May 18 to say that the besieged socialist nation has a legitimate right to defend itself.

This came in the wake of an Axios’ article where a Trump administration official claimed that the US could face attacks from the tiny Caribbean nation 90 miles south of Florida because officials there have been preparing defensive drone capabilities after endless threats from the US President that he would take over the country.

Díaz-Canel noted that Cuba is not a threat to the US and does not have “aggressive intentions” against any country, but has the “absolute legitimate right” to defend itself if the US were to attack. The fact that Cuba claims this right and has taken steps to prepare its defenses can in no way "logically or honestly" be used as a justification for war against the country, he stressed.

“The threats of military aggression against Cuba from the world’s greatest power are well-known,” Diaz-Canel said, in reference to the US. “The threat itself already constitutes an international crime. If it were to materialise, it would trigger a bloodbath with incalculable consequences, plus the destructive impact on regional peace and stability.”