00:00Cuban president warns of three U.S. scenarios as Trump tightens strip on island.
00:05Havana, June 8th. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has publicly warned that the United
00:12States is preparing three possible scenarios to force regime change on the island, ranging from
00:17economic strangulation to outright military invasion. His comments come as a severe energy
00:23blockade plunges Cuba deeper into crisis. Three scenarios for Cuba. In an interview with the
00:30Spanish online newspaper, el diario.es, published on June 8th, Diaz-Canel outlined what he described
00:37as the Trump administration's three-pronged strategy for its campaign against Cuba.
00:41The first scenario is economic warfare designed to trigger social unrest. They are betting on three
00:48scenarios, Diaz-Canel said. The first scenario is to use economic strangulation to incite
00:53social unrest. From there, social unrest will create an opportunity for them to intervene
00:58under the guise of humanitarian aid. The second scenario involves continuing coercive dialogue
01:05while applying maximum economic pressure. The goal, Diaz-Canel explained, is to seem control
01:12of the Cuban economy, dominating the country economically, thereby creating conditions for
01:17them to promote change in the political system, which is the ultimate goal of the United States.
01:23The third scenario is direct military aggression, the option that Havana views with the greatest
01:28alarm. Diaz-Canel stressed that all three possibilities had been openly mentioned by President Donald Trump
01:35and frequently appeared in statements by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the highest-ranking Cuban-American
01:41official in U.S. history. U.S. officials deny military intentions, but do not rule it out.
01:48When asked about the president's intentions for Cuba, Trump told reporters,
01:52we're going to handle that as soon as we've finished military operations in Iran.
01:57Trump has been threatening military action against Cuba ever since U.S. forces ousted Venezuelan
02:03President Nicolas Maduro in January, a dramatic operation that many analysts view as a template
02:09for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January, a dramatic operation that many analysts view as a
02:15template for possible action against Havana. Following Maduro's removal, the U.S. imposed an
02:21energy blockade on Cuba that effectively choked off its fuel supply. In March, Trump declared that he
02:27thought he would have the honor of taking Cuba and has repeated his threats to topple the communist
02:32government with increasing regularity. On social media, Trump has suggested that Rubio could become
02:38Cuba's next leader, writing, sounds good to me. Yet administration officials have not formally ruled
02:44out military action. Rubio has repeatedly described Cuba as a serious national security threat to the
02:51United States, citing its security and intelligence ties with China and Russia. I really don't
02:57believe this system is capable of reform unless new people take over or a new mindset takes hold,
03:03he told lawmakers at a congressional hearing last week. Cuba's ambassador. Sanctions are a pretext
03:10for war. Cuba's top diplomat in Washington, Ambassador Llanes Torres Rivera, told the Associated
03:17Press in an interview on Tuesday that recent U.S. sanctions targeting Cuban leaders, including the
03:22indictment of former President Raul Castro, are a pretext for the Trump administration to
03:27persuade the American people to support a military intervention. The sanctions against our leaders,
03:33we see as a pretext to make the American people think we are a threat, Torres Rivera said at Cuba's
03:39embassy in Washington. We are not a threat to the U.S., and we don't want confrontation.
03:45She described the current situation as a war without bombs, and warned that any effort to change Cuba's
03:51government by coercion or force would be met with fierce resistance. Raul is a sacred symbol of the
03:58revolution, and we will defend Raul, as we will the country, until the end, she said, referring to the
04:04indictment of the 95-year-old former president. If we are attacked, we are going to respond, and we are
04:11prepared for that, but we don't want it. The Cuban ambassador noted that recent discussions between senior
04:17U.S. and Cuban officials in Havana and elsewhere have been professional and respectful, but she
04:23insisted that Cuba is not willing to change unless reforms are made from within and not under duress.
04:29We want to make sure that the only changes to the system are done by us, she said.
04:35The Energy Blockade and Economic Collapse
04:38Trump's January executive order threatening tariffs on any nation supplying fuel to Cuba has produced
04:44catastrophic results. The island of 9.6 million people has been mired in a severe economic crisis
04:51for six years, but the latest measures have pushed it to the brink. The Cuban government announced
04:56emergency measures to address the crisis, including a four-day workweek for state-owned companies,
05:01restrictions on fuel sales, reduced bus and train services, closure of certain tourist establishments,
05:08shorter school days, and reduced in-person attendance at universities.
05:11Deputy Prime Minister Oscar Perez Oliva Fraga blamed Washington for the crisis, stating that the
05:18measures are intended to save fuel in order to promote food and electricity production and enable
05:24the preservation of fundamental activities that generate foreign currency.
05:29U.S. Senator Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat, delivered a stark assessment from the Senate floor.
05:35The country is facing economic collapse, literally, and the United States is complicit in that.
05:41In fact, that's the point of the U.S. actions. By causing Cuba's economy to collapse and leaving
05:47millions of innocent Cubans without enough food or access to medical care, the White House hopes to
05:53create the national security emergency it seeks to justify regime change, including, if necessary,
05:59using military force. Welch noted that Cuba is a bankrupt country, smaller than Virginia,
06:05with neither the capacity nor intention to threaten the United States. Electricity is now unavailable for
06:12most hours of the day and night across the entire island. Hospitals, schools, factories, and food
06:19production have ground to a halt. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parilla denounced the U.S.
06:26measures as an attack against a nation that is not hostile to any other country, and as evidence that
06:32the economic difficulties facing Cuba stem primarily from Washington's coercive policies.
06:38Cuba's defiance and preparations
06:41In the face of mounting pressure, Diaz-Canel has adopted a posture of defiance. He affirmed that Cuba
06:48has the right to prepare for self-defense in order to ensure that it is, quote, not caught by surprise,
06:53and also, quote, not defeated. However, one diplomatic source told STV News that while American military
07:01intervention is neither imminent nor inevitable, the U.S. is prepared to launch military action to
07:07achieve change. For its part, the Cuban government has distributed thousands of AK-47s to members of
07:14the Communist Party, a token measure aimed at defense against a potential American invasion.
07:19Cuban officials have offered a glimmer of openness to dialogue, but on their own terms.
07:25Diaz-Canel said his country is willing to hold talks with the United States,
07:29but not under pressure. Any talks must take place from a position of equals, with respect for our
07:35sovereignty, our independence, and our self-determination, and without interference in our
07:40internal affairs.
07:41International support for Cuba
07:43As Washington tightens the screws, Moscow and Beijing have stepped up their support for Havana.
07:50In a joint seminar in Havana commemorating the 77th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China
07:56and Russia, Chinese Ambassador Hua Xin declared that Cuba is not alone, and that China and Russia have
08:03supported the island against maximum pressure and constant threats from the United States.
08:09We have always spoken out to defend Cuba, jointly supporting it in safeguarding its sovereignty,
08:15independence, and national security, Hua said.
08:18Russian Ambassador Victor Corinelli condemned the tightening of the commercial, economic,
08:23financial, and energy blockade imposed by the U.S. government, calling it a criminal policy that
08:28violates all norms of international law. Moscow has sent a ship carrying Russian raw materials to
08:35help the island's energy supply. China, meanwhile, has urged the U.S. to listen to the voice of reason
08:40and stop its attempts to impose sanctions on Cuba.
08:44Rubio's position
08:46Rubio has dismissed Cuban complaints, arguing that the economic crisis is not America's fault,
08:52but rather the result of the Cuban government's failed socialist policies.
08:56He has also pointed to Cuba's security and intelligence ties with China and Russia
09:01as justification for continued pressure. However, Welch offered a different perspective.
09:07The reason Cuba is down to fumes is due to its own government's repressive,
09:11failed policies, and because of the U.S. oil blockade. But no American president,
09:16under any circumstances, friendly or unfriendly, should threaten to take over another sovereign
09:22nation that poses no imminent or credible threat to our country. What comes next?
09:27With Trump signaling that Cuba will be his next focus after Iran, and with the U.S. military
09:33already enforcing a de facto blockade in the Caribbean, the island nation faces an uncertain future.
09:39Diaz-Canel's three scenarios frame the choices ahead—economic collapse, coerced political change,
09:47or direct military confrontation. Cuba's leadership has vowed to resist. Whether that resistance can
09:53withstand the full weight of U.S. pressure, and whether the international community can intervene
09:59to prevent another military intervention in Latin America—remains to be seen.
10:03Let's see whether or not please take a point in place about the Wall Street of California
10:03during this trip, Northern America, or Fiatry.
10:03We'll turn it to you based transfer.
