Cuba warned Sunday that any prospective American military action against the island would constitute a serious international crime, rejecting claims that the nation is in any way a failed state.
"It would be an atrocious international crime for the US to use military force against Cuba, which is a peaceful neighboring country," Carlos Fernandez de Cossio Dominguez, the country's deputy foreign minister, told US public broadcaster C-SPAN.
He questioned what rationale Washington could possess to wage war or inflict casualties and devastation against the Caribbean nation, asserting that publicly stated goals to take over the island seek to nullify Cuba's sovereign right to exist.
Fernandez de Cossio pushed back directly against US President Donald Trump, characterizing Cuba in his address last week to the UN General Assembly as an "absolutely failed state" with "freedom" set to later arrive on the island.
The senior Cuban diplomat argued that the US administration contradicts its own rhetoric by boasting of imposing economic restrictions. "Cuba is a country under aggression, not a failed state," Fernandez de Cossio said, decrying what he called "multidimensional aggression from the most powerful nation on earth."
Addressing decades of US sanctions, he argued that Washington enforces collective punishment designed to starve the population into submission through severe fuel deprivation and economic embargoes, calling them "equivalent to genocide."
Fernandez de Cossio said Havana must prepare its citizens for potential foreign military aggression, adding that while Cuba recognizes it might stand alone without external assistance, it will exercise its legitimate right to self-defense.
On relations with the US, he explained that bilateral communication channels remain open but have yielded limited progress due to economic sanctions. He said Havana remains willing to engage with Washington in a "respectful manner" if discussions accommodate mutual dignity, benefit both populations, and respect state sovereignty.
The statements follow a sharp deterioration in bilateral ties, marked by a US oil blockade initiated in January that contributed to nationwide blackouts, alongside expanded sanctions on Cuban security institutions, state energy and mining enterprises, and members of the Castro family.
Trump predicted recently that the US and Cuba would "make a deal" and said he did not think military action would be necessary.
