In a fiery address delivered at Havana’s José Martí Anti-Imperialist Tribune, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel delivered a scathing condemnation of what he termed “U.S. military aggression” against Venezuela and the alleged kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro. The January 3rd speech framed the operation as an act of “state terrorism” that violates international law and threatens regional stability.
Díaz-Canel characterized the predawn military action as a “cowardly, criminal, and treacherous” attack motivated by imperialist desires for Venezuela’s oil reserves and natural resources. He explicitly rejected the Monroe Doctrine and what he called the “fallacious narrative of narco-terrorism” that U.S. officials had allegedly propagated to justify intervention.
The Cuban leader drew historical parallels, invoking Fidel Castro’s warnings about U.S. imperialism from two decades prior and comparing current U.S. leadership to Nazi propagandists employing Goebbels’ principle of repeating lies until they become accepted as truth. He further equated the Venezuela operation to “crimes against humanity committed by Israeli Zionism in the Gaza Strip.”
Díaz-Canel called for international mobilization against what he described as an illegal regime change operation, emphasizing that the threat extended beyond Venezuela to all of humanity. He demanded proof of life for Maduro and his partner Cilia Flores, while asserting that the United States bears responsibility for their physical safety.
The speech concluded with revolutionary slogans and declarations of solidarity between Cuba and Venezuela, with Díaz-Canel vowing that both nations would defend Venezuelan sovereignty at “a very high price” if necessary.