{"id":81843,"date":"2026-01-25T11:52:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T11:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/cubas-diaz-canel-defends-nationwide-military-drills-as-deterrent-after-trump-warns-havana-to-make-a-deal-or-face-venezuela-style-fate\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T11:52:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T11:52:00","slug":"cubas-diaz-canel-defends-nationwide-military-drills-as-deterrent-after-trump-warns-havana-to-make-a-deal-or-face-venezuela-style-fate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?p=81843","title":{"rendered":"Cuba\u2019s D\u00edaz-Canel Defends Nationwide Military Drills as Deterrent After Trump Warns Havana to \u2018Make a Deal\u2019 or Face Venezuela-Style Fate"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cuban President Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel on Saturday defended extensive military preparedness exercises underway across the island, describing them as essential deterrence against what Havana sees as escalating threats from the United States. The comments come amid soaring tensions following a dramatic U.S. military operation in neighboring Venezuela and forceful remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump toward Cuba.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>D\u00edaz-Canel personally oversaw armor and defense drills that included a tank unit of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, flanked by senior commanders including Minister of the Armed Forces General \u00c1lvaro L\u00f3pez Miera. In remarks broadcast on state television, the Cuban leader said the exercises were meant to make any potential aggression \u201ctoo costly for imperialism to contemplate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese preparations take on significant importance in the current circumstances,\u201d D\u00edaz-Canel said, framing them as part of the island\u2019s doctrine of a \u201cWar of the Entire People\u201d \u2014 a Cold War-era strategy to mobilize civilians if confronted by a foreign military threat.<\/p>\n<p>The National Defense Council, which D\u00edaz-Canel chairs, recently met to \u201canalyze and approve the plans and measures for transitioning to a State of War,\u201d according to official statements, though independent analysts caution that this language is largely symbolic and aimed at political messaging rather than indicating an actual legal state of war has been declared.<\/p>\n<p>Tensions intensified after U.S. forces carried out a raid in Caracas on Jan. 3 that resulted in the capture of Venezuela\u2019s former President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and the deaths of dozens of Cuban military personnel. Trump has since warned Cuba it \u201cis ready to fall\u201d and urged Havana to \u201cmake a deal before it\u2019s too late,\u201d signaling possible further economic and diplomatic pressure, including an oil cutoff reminiscent of U.S. actions against Venezuela.<\/p>\n<p>The island\u2019s leadership in Havana has dismissed these warnings, asserting Cuba\u2019s sovereignty and readiness to defend its revolution. While emphasizing defense, D\u00edaz-Canel reiterated willingness to engage in dialogue only on the basis of sovereign equality and mutual respect \u2014 excluding coercive diplomacy.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/theasialive.com\/cuba-diaz-canel-defends-nationwide-military-drills-as-deterrent-after-trump-warns-havana-to-make-a-deal-or-face-venezuela-style-fate\/2026\/01\/25\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cuban President Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel on Saturday defended extensive military preparedness exercises underway across the island, describing&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":81844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[8781,334,1672,8783,8782,3806,1349,4287,8784,757,8514,1285,8785,368],"class_list":["post-81843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia","tag-cubas","tag-deal","tag-defends","tag-deterrent","tag-diazcanel","tag-drills","tag-face","tag-fate","tag-havana","tag-military","tag-nationwide","tag-trump","tag-venezuelastyle","tag-warns"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.0 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Cuba\u2019s D\u00edaz-Canel Defends Nationwide Military Drills as Deterrent After Trump Warns Havana to \u2018Make a Deal\u2019 or Face Venezuela-Style Fate - Gulf Times | News by the 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