Cuba Rejects U.S. Interference and Military Threats Against Venezuela

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel today rejected what he described as interference, threats, and preparations for military aggression by the United States against Venezuela, aimed at overthrowing its legitimate government. In a message posted on social media, the president called such actions unacceptable and recalled that “gunboat diplomacy and the Monroe Doctrine belong to a bygone neo-colonial era.” He emphasized that “Latin America and the Caribbean is a Zone of Peace,” referring to the declaration adopted by regional countries during the second Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States in 2014.

Since September 2, the U.S. government has carried out a series of attacks on small vessels in international waters in areas of the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, under the pretext of combating drug trafficking—actions for which Washington blames Venezuela. In response, Venezuelan authorities have issued a unified position rejecting the bilateral framework of confrontation and denouncing what they describe as a campaign of multilateral aggression.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro characterized Washington’s actions as a smear campaign against his administration to “justify anything” against the Bolivarian nation. Maduro asserted that the United States’ real objective is “regime change” to seize Venezuela’s vast oil and gas resources.