Díaz-Canel Accuses U.S. of Nazi Practices, 'Genocidal Policy' Against Cuba

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel drew a stark parallel between the U.S. government and Nazis, accusing Washington of implementing a "genocidal policy" designed to "appropriate the entire country." Speaking in Pinar del Río during the 73rd anniversary of the Moncada Barracks assault, a pivotal event in the 1959 revolution, Díaz-Canel framed the current U.S. pressure on the island within a historical context of perceived American aggression.

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Before it was Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. Today it is Cuba. Tomorrow it could be any other nation.

"Before it was Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. Today it is Cuba. Tomorrow it could be any other nation," Díaz-Canel declared, warning that Cuba "is not the first nor will it be the last victim" of U.S. policies. He specifically targeted U.S. State Department officials, describing them as "modern versions of the drafters of military edicts and proclamations that were so feared and hated in the dark medieval times or during the Nazi occupations in World War II."

The Cuban leader characterized the pressure against his island as a "coldly calculated genocide by the U.S. government" as part of a campaign of "maximum asphyxiation." This campaign, he detailed, combines the ongoing oil blockade since January with multiple waves of sanctions, including secondary sanctions. Díaz-Canel condemned the latest sanctions as "breaking the record of infamy" because they target Cuban medical missions abroad, which Havana considers international solidarity but Washington labels as modern slavery.

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the State Department officials, experts in drafting sanctions, making lists, and inventing pretexts, are a modern version of the drafters of military edicts and proclamations that were so feared and hated in the dark medieval times or during the Nazi occupations in World War II.

Despite the severe external pressure, Díaz-Canel acknowledged that Cuba is navigating "one of the most difficult moments in its history." He spoke of "challenging harshness" marked by prolonged power outages and a general decline in living standards. To address this, he emphasized the "strategic priority" of implementing "deep and necessary changes" through a recently approved package of 176 reforms. These reforms aim to liberalize, open up, and decentralize the island's centrally planned economy, representing what experts consider the most significant economic transformation plan since the 1959 revolution.

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It is illegal and criminal to martyr a people just to provoke them to rebel against their government.