Cuba Warns of ‘Bloodbath’ as U.S. Imposes New Sanctions

On 18 May 2024, President Miguel Diaz-Canel warned that a U.S. military attack on Cuba would result in massive loss of life and unpredictable consequences. The same day the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Cuba’s Directorate of Intelligence and nine senior officials, including the ministers of communications, energy and justice, as well as several top Communist Party members and generals.

France 24

U.S.–Cuba relations have deteriorated since January, when former President Donald Trump suggested overthrowing the Cuban government and halted oil shipments from Venezuela, Cuba’s primary fuel supplier. The oil blockade has deepened Cuba’s energy crisis. U.S. officials have publicly speculated about possible Cuban drone strikes on U.S. targets.

France 24WION

Axios reported, citing unnamed U.S. intelligence officials, that Cuba has acquired more than 300 military drones from Russia and Iran and is evaluating their use against U.S. installations such as Guantanamo Bay, naval vessels, and potentially Florida. The U.S. Treasury’s sanction package targets the intelligence agency overseeing such acquisitions and nine individuals linked to the procurement network.

South China Morning Post

Diaz-Canel reiterated on X that Cuba does not threaten any country and emphasized the nation’s right to self-defence against a military onslaught. Cuban UN ambassador Ernesto Soberón Guzmán added that any invasion would be met with resistance. The U.S. Treasury described the sanctions as a response to activities that undermine regional stability and threaten U.S. security.

WION

U.S. officials, unnamed in the Axios report, argue that the drone stockpile represents a direct threat to American forces and civilian infrastructure. They contend that the sanctions aim to deter Cuba from escalating the conflict and to pressure Havana to abandon any offensive planning.

South China Morning Post

Cuban authorities have not confirmed the alleged drone inventory, and no independent verification of the 300-drone figure has been presented. The reliance on unnamed intelligence sources leaves the scale and operational status of the drones uncertain.

South China Morning Post

• “If someone tried to invade Cuba, Cuba will fight back, no doubt about it,” — Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, Cuban ambassador to the United Nations

France 24

• “In the 60s, they (the US) tried to invade Cuba, and they were defeated. Of course, everybody can say this is a different situation. Yes, it is. But the will of the people of Cuba has not changed,” — Ernesto Soberón Guzmán

France 24

• “trigger a bloodbath with incalculable consequences.” — Miguel Diaz-Canel

France 24