Cuba’s top diplomat in Washington has accused the United States of using recent sanctions and legal actions against Cuban leaders as a pretext to build support for possible military intervention against the island.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Cuba’s chargé d’affaires to the United States, Lianys Torres Rivera, said the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration are intended to portray Cuba as a threat to the American people.
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“The sanctions against our leaders, we see as a pretext to make the American people think we are a threat,” Torres Rivera said. “We are not a threat to the U.S., and we don’t want confrontation.”
The diplomat’s comments come amid escalating tensions between Washington and Havana following the indictment of former Cuban President Raúl Castro and sanctions imposed on several senior Cuban officials, including President Miguel Díaz-Canel.
A U.S. federal grand jury last month charged the 95-year-old Castro with conspiracy and murder in connection with the 1996 downing of two civilian aircraft operated by the Miami-based organization Brothers to the Rescue. The incident occurred while Castro was serving as Cuba’s defense minister.
Torres Rivera strongly rejected the charges, describing Castro as a revered figure in Cuban society.
“Raúl is a sacred symbol of the revolution, and we will defend Raúl — as we will the country — until the end,” she said. “If we are attacked, we are going to respond, and we are prepared for that. But we don’t want it.”
The envoy argued that recent U.S. actions mirror the measures Washington used before its intervention in Venezuela earlier this year, which resulted in the removal of former President Nicolás Maduro.
She also criticized the tightening of U.S. sanctions and restrictions on fuel shipments to Cuba, saying they have deepened the island’s economic crisis and contributed to widespread hardships for ordinary citizens.
According to Torres Rivera, prolonged blackouts, soaring fuel costs, food shortages and limited access to medicine have left many Cubans struggling to survive.
“What is happening now is tough,” she said. “It is heartbreaking.”
The Trump administration has repeatedly rejected claims that U.S. sanctions are responsible for Cuba’s economic difficulties, instead blaming decades of socialist economic policies and government mismanagement.
President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have argued that Cuba’s leadership bears responsibility for the island’s deteriorating conditions. U.S. officials have also cited Havana’s ties to China, Russia and other American adversaries as a national security concern.
Rubio recently told lawmakers that meaningful reform in Cuba would likely require new leadership or a significant shift in political thinking.
Torres Rivera acknowledged that recent discussions between U.S. and Cuban officials have remained professional but insisted that any changes to Cuba’s political or economic system must come from within.
“We want to make sure that the only changes to the system are done by us,” she said.
Her remarks underscore the growing strain in U.S.-Cuba relations as diplomatic tensions rise alongside worsening economic conditions on the island.
