The Cuban Government affirmed this Friday that it will face the decision of donald trump to impose tariffs on countries that supply oil to the island “firmly” and assured that Cuba is not “going to bow down” to US pressure.
“We will face the new onslaught with firmness, equanimity and certainty that reason is absolutely on our side. The decision is one: Homeland or Death, We Will Win!”, said the Executive of the Caribbean country in an extensive statement.
In the statement issued one day after the new executive order from the White House, Havana affirms that Washington “is confused” by trusting that “with economic pressure and the determination to cause suffering to millions of people” it will ensure that “Cuba falls, once again, under American rule.”
Likewise, he stressed that Trump’s new measures are not going to “break” Cubans in their “determination to defend national sovereignty.”
“The United States Government reaches this point after having failed for 67 years to surrender and destroy a genuine and legitimate political and revolutionary process, of full sovereignty, social justice and promotion of peace and solidarity with the rest of the world,” the note stated.
| “We will face the new onslaught with firmness, equanimity and certainty that reason is absolutely on our side. The decision is one: Homeland or Death! We will win!”
| Declaration of the Revolutionary Government:https://t.co/jz3I69h6KO pic.twitter.com/ocYpeQDijw
— Presidency Cuba (@PresidenciaCuba) January 31, 2026
Willingness to dialogue
In its statement, the Government of Cuba underlined its “historical willingness” to maintain “a serious, responsible dialogue, based on International Law, sovereign equality, and mutual respect” with the United States, but without “interference in internal affairs.”
He also reiterated that “Cuba does not constitute any threat to the United States” and its national interests, and affirmed that American citizens “have always been treated with respect and hospitality when their government has allowed them to visit the island.”
Finally, Havana pointed out that “the international community faces the unavoidable challenge of defining whether a crime of this nature can be the sign of what is to come or whether sanity, solidarity and the rejection of aggression, impunity and abuse will prevail.”
This is the first institutional statement after the executive order announced on Thursday.
Previously, President Miguel Díaz-Canel had pointed out that the new measure of the Trump Administration “evidence the fascist, criminal and genocidal nature of a clique that has kidnapped the interests of the American people for purely personal purposes.”
He added that the decision was made “under a mendacious pretext and empty of arguments,” in reference to the arguments contained in the executive order to declare a “national emergency” in the United States due to the danger that Cuba supposedly poses to its national security.
Among these reasons, Washington highlighted Havana’s alignment with Russia and other “evil actors”, the hosting of spy bases and “transnational terrorist groups”, the persecution and torture of political opponents and the denial of human rights on the island.
Cuba without oil
Washington’s pressure towards Cuba has been escalating since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, with special emphasis after the recent events in Venezuela and the capture of Nicolás Maduro.
With this, it threatens to further aggravate the economic and energy crisis in a country that already suffered from a chronic fuel deficit—especially visible in the prolonged daily blackouts—by not having the necessary foreign currency to import enough crude oil.
Cuba needs about 110 thousand barrels of oil per day, according to different estimates cited by the EFE agency in the absence of official data. Of this amount, only around 40 thousand come from its national crude oil production, mainly dedicated to fueling thermoelectric plants.
The island’s main historical supplier was Venezuela, which in 2025 supplied it with about 27 thousand barrels per day, according to the agency’s monitoring system. Reutersa much lower figure than the up to 100 thousand barrels per day that it provided years ago, but at least it results in a relatively stable supply.
This ended after the January 3 attacks and the kidnapping of Maduro by US forces, in an action in which 32 Cuban soldiers died.
After Venezuela, Mexico became the second supplier of fuel to Cuba in 2025, with between 6,000 and 12,000 barrels per day, according to different sources. However, even before Trump’s order this week, Washington had been increasing its pressure on this country in recent weeks.
