Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel pushed back hard on Thursday when asked whether he would step down, framing the question as a kind of interference that Cuba simply doesn’t accept.
In an interview in Havana with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker, Díaz-Canel insisted that “Stepping down is not part of our vocabulary.” He bristled when Welker asked if he would be “willing to step down to save your country” during his first interview with a U.S. broadcast network, arguing that leadership in Cuba isn’t chosen by the U.S. government and doesn’t come with any U.S. mandate. “In Cuba, the people who are in leadership positions are not elected by the U.S. government, and they don’t have a mandate from the U.S. government. We have a free sovereign state, a free state. We have self-determination and independence, and we are not subjected to the designs of the United States,” he said.
The pressure didn’t come out of nowhere. Misryoum newsroom reported that Díaz-Canel’s response landed as the Trump administration has been ratcheting up pressure on Cuba and calling for change in its government. President Donald Trump has described Cuba as a “failing nation,” and said last month that it may be “a friendly takeover, it may not be a friendly takeover.” In Washington, a White House official then responded to Thursday’s comments by saying the Trump administration is talking to Cuba, with the idea that Cuban leaders want a deal and should make a deal—something Trump believes “would be very easily made.”
That framing has been met with sharp rebuttals from Cuban officials, and also from Rubio, whose remarks have increasingly tied Cuba’s internal political direction to external pressure. Misryoum editorial desk noted that Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Cuba a “disaster,” saying it’s because their “economic system doesn’t work.” Rubio also said that “Cubans can only be successful if they leave the country,” arguing that for change to happen, “you have to change the people in charge,” and that this requires changing the country’s economic model.
Díaz-Canel took issue with the premise of being asked about stepping down. “Do you ask that question to Trump?” he said, and he questioned whether the line of questioning was “coming from the State Department of the U.S.” He also insisted that Cuba’s leaders “are elected by the people, although there’s a narrative trying to disregard that.” In his account, candidates rise through local elections: “Any one of us, before we become part of a leadership role, we need to be elected at the grassroot level in our electoral district by thousands of Cubans.” Critics argue the system is structurally closed—Cuba’s communist government is one-party and doesn’t allow an opposition party, while candidates for the National Assembly are chosen in local elections, but without what critics describe as credible opposition, transparency, and required party membership.
In the same exchange, Díaz-Canel said he wasn’t afraid for himself, telling Welker: “I have no fear. I am willing to give my life for the revolution.” He also responded to the U.S. tone about potential moves against the island by saying he believes the American public wouldn’t accept an invasion of a “very small island.” That’s not the only thing weighing on daily life right now. Misryoum analysis indicates that for months Cuba has
been dealing with mounting strain, including power outages and fuel shortages, after the U.S. cut the flow of Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and threatened tariffs against countries supplying oil to the island. Oil reserves dwindled, outages spread, and even basic routines got disrupted—on one recent blackout day, the air around a Havana street corner felt oddly quiet, aside from the low hum of generators and the
smell of exhaust lingering after traffic stalled.
Trump has also pointed to Russia’s involvement, saying he had “no problem” with the arrival of a Russian tanker with crude oil and that he didn’t think it would help prop up the Cuban government; Misryoum newsroom reported it was the first tanker to dock in three months, and Russia said it is preparing a second shipment. Still, Cuban officials and residents complain that the shortage remains, and Díaz-Canel and others have blamed the long-standing U.S. economic embargo of more than 50 years. In response to Cuban statements, Rubio said on March 27 that there “is no naval blockade around Cuba” and that fuel problems persist because Cuba “wants it for free,” adding that oil and fuel aren’t typically given away unless subsidized—by the Soviet Union or by Maduro.
Díaz-Canel also argued the U.S. should understand what the relationship has cost both sides. “I think the most important thing would be for them to understand and take this critical position, a sincere position, and recognize how much it has cost the Cuban people — and how much they have deprived the American people from a normal relationship with the Cuban people.” Trump has said Rubio is in talks with Cuba, and Cuban officials have acknowledged talks without offering details. This week, Cuba’s deputy foreign minister, Josefina Vidal, told Agence France-Presse that talks on de-escalating tensions are still at a “very preliminary” stage—actually, preliminary is how officials seem to keep things lately, like they’re holding the line until they know what comes next.
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