MIAMI, United States – This Tuesday, less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump’s inauguration in the United States, the Cuban leader appeared dressed in olive green and surrounded by regime generals during the launch of the University Student Bastion.
“We started the day with UCI [University of Computer Sciences] students at shooting practice, as part of the Student Bastion,” Díaz-Canel wrote on the social media platform X, where he also shared several photos.
Apparently, the leader not only wanted to inform about his participation in the event but also to send a message to the world shortly after Donald Trump’s return to the White House. “Fidel said it clearly: ‘As long as imperialism exists, the Party, the State, and the People will devote maximum attention to defense.’ It is an inviolable principle,” wrote the Cuban leader.
On Monday evening, Díaz-Canel also used his X account to respond to Cuba’s return to the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. Last week, the island was removed from the list by Joe Biden, where it had been grouped alongside Iran and North Korea, but was reinstated this Monday by Trump.
“President Trump, in an act of arrogance and disregard for the truth, has just reinstated the fraudulent designation of Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism,” the Cuban leader wrote.
Díaz-Canel also described this action as part of Washington’s ongoing “economic siege” against the island. “It’s not surprising. Their objective is to continue strengthening the cruel economic war against Cuba for purposes of domination,” he remarked. He also linked these policies to the increase in Cuban migration flows to the United States.
On Tuesday, the official newspaper of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC), Granma, echoed Díaz-Canel’s statements, also describing the measure as “an act of mockery and abuse” that “confirms the discredit of the unilateral lists and coercive mechanisms of the U.S. government.”
The Cuban leader further insisted, in his usual triumphant tone, that “the legitimate and noble cause of our people will prevail, and once again, we will triumph.”
The White House order reversing Cuba’s certification as free of support for international terrorism is part of a series of initial rescissions classified by the current U.S. administration as “harmful” and “illegal.” According to the official text released by the White House, the policies of Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, had “embedded deeply unpopular and radical practices” in federal agencies, and the new administration seeks to “restore common sense to the Federal Government.”
On the same day, Title III of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act (Libertad Act), which came into effect in 1996, was suspended. The title had been created to allow Americans, including naturalized Cubans, to sue companies in U.S. courts that were allegedly profiting from properties in Cuba that belonged to them 60 years ago, before the Revolution.
Trump’s decision on Monday, his first day back in the White House (for a second term), also reinstated NSPM-5 (the list of restricted entities), which had been in effect during his first term. This action further tightens economic, financial, and trade restrictions against Havana.
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