Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said on Thursday that his country would be ready for a potential attack from the United States, CBS News reports.
President Trump said “very soon” that this “great strength” will bring a “new dawn for Cuba.”
“We’re going to help them out with Cuba,” he said.
Watch below:
NOW – Trump says very soon the “great strength” of the American military will create “a new dawn for Cuba.” pic.twitter.com/EW3kjmaoqC
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) April 17, 2026
CBS News shared further:
Earlier this week, Mr. Trump said his administration could focus on Cuba after the war in Iran ends.
With Cuba’s crisis deepening as a result of a U.S. energy blockade, Díaz-Canel said that he does not want U.S. military aggression to come to Cuba. He said that the country will be prepared to fight back if it happens.
“The moment is extremely challenging and calls upon us once again, as on April 16, 1961, to be ready to confront serious threats, including military aggression. We do not want it, but it is our duty to prepare to avoid it and, if it becomes inevitable, to defeat it,” Díaz-Canel said.
He spoke as tensions remain high between the two countries, at a rally commemorating the 65th anniversary of a historic speech by the late leader Fidel Castro during a crisis with the United States.
Mr. Trump said earlier this week, “We may stop by Cuba after we finish with this,” he said. He described the island as a “failing nation” and asserted that it’s “been a terribly run country for a long time.”
Trump previously said that Cuba is “at the end of the line.”
“They have no money. They have no oil. They have a bad philosophy. They have a bad regime that’s been bad for a long time,” he added.
WATCH: President Trump Says Cuba Is In Its Last Moments Of Life, Will Topple Very Soon!
Meanwhile, a USA TODAY report alleged the Pentagon is quietly “ramping up” an operation against the Caribbean nation in case Trump gives an order to intervene.
JUST IN – U.S. military preparations underway for a possible Pentagon-led military operation inside Cuba, should Trump give the order.https://t.co/1ycINHfAuH
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) April 15, 2026
USA TODAY wrote:
The directives appear to be an escalation of recent tensions between the United States and Cuba that began in January when the Trump administration curbed oil shipments to Cuba as part of a broader campaign to force sweeping political changes on the communist-run island.
In a statement to USA TODAY the Pentagon said it plans for a range of contingencies and remains prepared to execute the president’s orders as directed.
Reports of the plans to escalate first appeared on Zeteo’s Substack and made the rounds on Capitol Hill and across Washington.
The United States and Cuba acknowledged they are in the early stages of trying to find a way out of the crisis, but it’s not clear how much each side is willing to compromise. In March, USA TODAY reported the two countries had been in discussions to sign a possible historic economic deal that would thaw relations.
Even as the Trump administration’s attention has shifted to the Iran war, tensions between Washington and Havana have escalated in recent weeks. Trump has suggested he expects soon to have the “honor” of “taking Cuba, in some form,” adding, “Whether I free it, take it − I think I can do anything I want with it.”
On April 13, Trump told USA TODAY at the White House, “We may stop by Cuba after we’re finished with this,” referring to ongoing conflict with Iran.