May 18 (Reuters) – Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Monday that any U.S. military action against Cuba would lead to a “bloodbath” with incalculable consequences for regional peace and stability.
“Cuba does not represent a threat,” Diaz-Canel said in a post on X.
The comments follow an Axios report published on Sunday, citing classified intelligence, that said Cuba had acquired more than 300 military drones and had discussed plans to use them to attack the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, U.S. military vessels and Key West, Florida.
Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, in a separate post, said Cuba, “like every nation in the world”, has the right to legitimate self-defense against external aggression under the U.N. Charter and international law. He also said those seeking to attack Cuba use false pretexts to justify it.
Cuba, a communist foe of Washington for generations, has come under increasing strain since the United States cut off its energy supplies after arresting the president of its then-ally Venezuela in January. In recent weeks fuel has run out and electricity is often available for only an hour or two a day.
Tensions between the two countries have risen sharply in recent days. Reuters reported last week, citing U.S. Department of Justice sources, that prosecutors planned to indict former Cuban leader Raul Castro over Cuba’s 1996 shooting down of two planes operated by the humanitarian group Brothers to the Rescue.
Such an indictment of Castro, 94, would mark a major escalation in pressure on Cuba by the Trump administration, which has described the island’s government as corrupt and incompetent as it pushes for change.
(Reporting by Kylie MadryEditing by Peter Graff)
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