Cuba Vows to Defend Itself Against "Extortionist" Trump

“Cuba is a free, independent, and sovereign nation. Nobody dictates what we do,” Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said in response to the latest threat from US President Donald Trump, Jon Queally reported for Common Dreams.

Trump has escalated his hostility toward Cuba, Colombia, Mexico, and other nations following the attack on Venezuela and the kidnapping of Maduro and Flores.

“Cuba does not attack; it has been attacked by the US for 66 years. And it does not threaten; it prepares, ready to defend the homeland to the last drop of blood,” Díaz-Canel added, as Trump drew criticism from humanitarian and anti-war voices after again threatening Cuba, saying the US military would be used to prevent oil and other resources from reaching the country.

Trump critics were quick to respond. Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the anti-war group CodePink, said the “true extortionist” in the situation is Trump himself, citing the longstanding relationship between the Venezuelan and Cuban governments.

Cuba, she said, sent 250,000 health workers to Venezuela, helped lower infant mortality, restored eyesight, and trained local doctors.

“What is extortion?” Benjamin asked. “It’s what Donald Trump is doing: taking over oil tankers, confiscating 30 to 50 million tons of oil—that is extortion. And saying to Venezuela, ‘We’re going to run your country.’ Trump is the greatest extortionist our country has seen.”

“The US blockade of Cuba is the longest-standing act of collective punishment in the world,” said David Adler, co-general coordinator of Progressive International. “It is condemned by the entire international community every year at the UN. And now the US president is doubling down on this cruel and illegal punishment.”

Progressive International said last week that Trump has escalated his hostility toward Cuba, Colombia, Mexico, and other nations following the attack on Venezuela and the kidnapping of Maduro and Flores.