Cuban President Confirms He Will Not Resign Under Pressure from Washington

SadaNews - Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said late Thursday to Friday that he will not resign under pressure from the United States and called for open dialogue in his first television interview with an American radio station.

Díaz-Canel stated to NBC: "We have a free, sovereign state. We have the right to self-determination and independence, and we are not subject to U.S. schemes."

The 65-year-old president added that "the U.S. government, which has practiced such aggressive policies against Cuba, has no right to demand anything from Cuba."

He continued, "The concept of the revolutionaries surrendering and stepping down from their positions is not part of our vocabulary."

Washington is exerting pressure on communist Cuba and has effectively imposed an oil blockade on the island by threatening tariffs on any country that attempts to sell oil to it.

Cuba has been suffering from a severe energy crisis since January when its main supply from Venezuela was interrupted following the ousting of Nicolás Maduro.

The Caribbean island has been under a U.S. trade embargo for more than six decades.

Trump publicly proposed the idea of "taking over Cuba, as he did with Greenland, Canada, and Venezuela," while his administration describes Havana's leaders as a "threat" to U.S. national security.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, of Cuban descent, has taken charge of negotiations with Havana and has called for changes in the Cuban leadership, which he considers inept.

However, Rubio denies calling for Díaz-Canel's resignation.

The Cuban president stated that Havana wants to "engage in dialogue and discuss any subject without any conditions."