On the anniversary of the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Cuba braces for a U.S. attack
Cuba, the communist state that has long maintained open hostility toward the United States, is preparing for a U.S. attack that Washington has previously hinted at.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said that his country is “on high alert” for a potential U.S. attack, after months of pressure exerted by President Donald Trump on the communist island.
Speaking before thousands of people gathered in Havana to mark the 65th anniversary of the failed U.S. invasion at the Bay of Pigs, Díaz-Canel said: “We do not want this confrontation, but it is our duty to be prepared to avoid it, and if it becomes inevitable, we must prevail.”
Cuba is preparing for a possible attack following repeated warnings from Trump that the island would be “the next target” after the overthrow of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the entry into war against Iran.
According to U.S. media reports, Washington and Havana have held talks to ease tensions, but without significant progress.
Mariela Castro, daughter of former president Raúl Castro, said that Cubans “want dialogue” with Washington, “without putting our political system up for debate.”
She added that her 94-year-old father, who oversaw the historic rapprochement with the United States in 2015 under President Barack Obama, was indirectly involved in the discussions.
Raúl Castro’s grandson, army colonel Raúl Rodríguez Castro, also took part.
Díaz-Canel acknowledged that the current situation is “extremely dangerous,” while emphasizing Cuba’s “socialist” nature, as declared by Fidel Castro on April 16, 1961.
The Bay of Pigs invasion took place in 1961, two years after Castro’s revolutionaries took control of the island and began nationalizing U.S.-owned property and companies.
Between April 15 and 19, about 1,400 Cuban exiles opposed to Castro, trained by the Central Intelligence Agency, landed at the Bay of Pigs, about 250 kilometers south of Havana.
Cuban forces repelled the invasion, inflicting a severe defeat on the Americans.
Six decades later, Cuba has once again become a target for Washington. Trump, immediately after Maduro’s arrest, imposed an oil blockade on the already impoverished island, worsening its economic crisis.
Díaz-Canel rejected what he described as the U.S. portrayal of Cuba as a “failed state,” asserting: “Cuba is not a failed state; it is a besieged state.”
Maria Reguero, 82, who attended the gathering, said that Cubans, as in 1961, “are ready to defend their sovereignty at any cost.”
