US-Cuba Tensions Escalate; Cuban President Warns of "Bloody Consequences" from US Military Action

(CNA Havana, 18th, Comprehensive Foreign Report) Cuban President Díaz-Canel warned today that a US attack would result in a "river of blood," as tensions between the two countries further escalated with the US Treasury imposing sanctions on Cuba's main intelligence agency and high-ranking officials. According to AFP and Reuters, Miguel Díaz-Canel emphasized Cuba's right to self-defense. This follows a report by the US news website Axios that Havana has acquired over 300 military drones from Russia and Iran and is considering using them to attack US targets. Washington today announced sanctions against the Cuban intelligence agency and nine Cuban individuals, including the ministers of communications, energy, and justice, continuing to increase pressure on the Cuban communist regime. The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) noted in a statement that several high-ranking communist officials and at least three generals are on the sanctions list. Furthermore, US media also reported that the Trump administration is seeking to indict the 94-year-old brother of the late strongman Fidel Castro, Raul Castro, as part of its pressure campaign. The US State Department stated that more sanctions are expected in the coming days and weeks. Amid this, speculation is also rising about whether the US is considering military action to overthrow the Cuban communist regime. Citing unnamed US officials, Axios reported that Havana is considering attacks on the US military base and ships at Guantanamo Bay in eastern Cuba, and possibly even Key West, Florida, north of Havana. The Cuban government, in turn, accuses the US of first "crippling" its economy through a fuel blockade, leading to frequent power outages, and then attempting to create a pretext for military intervention. Díaz-Canel reiterated in a post on the social media platform X that Cuba "poses no threat to the United States or any other country" and warned that a US attack would "unleash a river of blood with incalculable consequences." He did not directly respond to the US accusation that Cuba has acquired a large number of attack drones but stated that Cuba "absolutely and legitimately has the right to defend itself in the event of a military attack." Cuba's ambassador to the United Nations also expressed a similar hardline stance. "If anyone tries to invade Cuba, Cuba will undoubtedly fight back, there is no question about that," Cuban Ambassador to the UN Ernesto Soberon Guzman told AFP in New York. He added, "The United States tried to invade Cuba in the 1960s and failed. Of course, one could say the situation is different now. Yes, it is different, but the will of the Cuban people has never changed." (Compiled by: Liu Wen-yu)