Cuban President Díaz-Canel Refuses to Resign, Calls for Dialogue with US

According to a translation of remarks provided by NBC News, Díaz-Canel stated: "We are a free and sovereign nation, a free country. We have the right to self-determination and independence, and we are not at the mercy of the United States." The 65-year-old leader also said: "The US government, which implements hostile policies against Cuba, is not qualified to make any demands on Cuba." He added: "The concept of revolutionaries giving up and stepping down does not exist in our dictionary." Díaz-Canel told NBC News that Cuba hopes to "engage in dialogue without any preconditions, to discuss any issue, without being asked to change our political system, just as we would not ask the United States to change its system, about which we also have many concerns." Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Josefina Vidal told AFP on April 7th that negotiations with the United States were still in "very preliminary stages." In response to Díaz-Canel's remarks today, a White House official said that the Trump administration is talking with Cuba, and that the Cuban leadership wants to reach an agreement and should reach one, which Trump believes "will be very easy to achieve." The White House official said today: "Cuba is a failing state, and the ruling class has suffered a major setback after losing Venezuelan support." The United States has recently pressured communist-ruled Cuba, implementing an de facto oil blockade and threatening to impose tariffs on any country attempting to sell oil to Cuba. After the US arrested Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January this year, Cuba's main oil supply from its ally Venezuela was cut off, plunging Cuba into an energy crisis. Trump had publicly proposed the idea of "taking over" Cuba, and he had similar claims about Greenland, Canada, and Venezuela. The Trump administration views the Cuban leadership as a "threat" to US national security. Díaz-Canel vowed last month to "firmly resist" any such takeover. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has Cuban heritage, led negotiations with Havana authorities and demanded major reforms from the Cuban leadership, deeming the current leadership incompetent. However, Rubio denied demanding Díaz-Canel's resignation. Despite bilateral tensions, the US allowed a Russian oil tanker to unload crude oil in Cuba more than a week ago. (Compiler: Lu Yingzi) 1150410