Cuban President Confirms His Country Is "On High Alert" for Potential American Attack

SadaNews - Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel announced late Thursday night that his country is "on high alert" for a potential American attack, after months of pressure from President Donald Trump on the communist island.

Diaz-Canel said before thousands of people participating in a massive rally in Havana to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the failed American invasion of the Bay of Pigs, "We do not want that (confrontation), but it is our duty to be prepared to avoid it, and if it is inevitable, we must triumph in it."

Cuba is preparing for a potential attack after repeated warnings from Trump that it is "the next target" following his ousting of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and entering war against Iran.

According to American media reports, Washington and Havana have held discussions to ease tensions between them, but there has been little progress.

Mariela Castro, daughter of former President Raul Castro, stated that Cubans "want dialogue" with Washington, but "without putting our political system up for discussion."

She added that her 94-year-old father, who supervised the historic rapprochement with the United States in 2015 during Barack Obama's administration, was indirectly involved in the talks.

Raul Castro's grandson, Colonel Raul Rodriguez Castro, also participated in them.

Diaz-Canel acknowledged that the current situation is "extremely dangerous," but emphasized the "socialist" nature of Cuba, as declared by Fidel Castro on April 16, 1961.

The Bay of Pigs invasion occurred in 1961, two years after Castro's revolutionaries took control of the island and began nationalizing properties and companies owned by the United States.

Between April 15 and 19, about 1,400 Cuban exiles opposed to Castro, trained by the CIA, landed at the Bay of Pigs, approximately 250 kilometers south of Havana.

The Cuban forces repelled the invasion, inflicting a severe defeat on the Americans.

After six decades, Cuba has once again become a target for Washington, as Trump imposed an oil embargo on the impoverished island immediately after Maduro's capture, exacerbating its economic crisis.

Diaz-Canel rejected what he described as the United States' portrayal of Cuba as a "failed state," asserting that "Cuba is not a failed state; it is a besieged state."

Maria Reguero, 82, who attended the gathering, stated that Cubans, like in 1961, are "ready to defend their sovereignty at all costs."