President Miguel Díaz-Canel reiterated that Cuba maintains its willingness to dialogue with the US government «on equal terms, without impositions, with respect for our sovereignty and our independence».

Speaking to the people of Lajas municipality in the central province of Cienfuegos the day before, the Cuban leader said that the election of Republican Donald Trump to the presidency of the northern power was a foreseen result for which the island had prepared itself.

In the context of a working visit to the territory, he stressed his country’s will to advance in economic development, despite the tightening of the blockade and Washington’s hostility.

The relationship with the government of the United States, as you know, is a totally asymmetrical relationship, because they have imposed a blockade on us for more than 60 years, which in 2019 was intensified and maintained by the current administration, he recalled.

He acknowledged that this siege has implications for the lives of Cubans, with power cuts, lack of food and medicine, but he reaffirmed his conviction that the country will move forward with creative resistance and the talent and heroism of its people.