Cuba Won't Remove Its President to Appease Trump, Says UN Envoy

Summary

• Ambassador Soberón Guzmán firmly rejects any US precondition for talks involving the removal of President Miguel Díaz-Canel or regime change, stating it constitutes interference in internal affairs.
• Describes a severe humanitarian and economic crisis due to the US oil blockade: Cuba has not received a liter of oil in three months, leading to 96,000 patients (including 11,000 children) awaiting non-urgent surgeries and 30,000 women waiting for ultrasounds due to electricity shortages.
• Highlights efforts to mitigate the crisis: currently generating 50% of daily electricity from renewable resources (solar), installing solar panels in hospitals and schools, and working with international partners.
• Expresses hope for incoming oil shipments from Russia and Mexico, stating that receiving oil would immediately allow 1400 kilowatts of idle power generation capacity to come online and alleviate medical and logistical crises.
• Argues that the Cuban economy is functional but strangled by external pressure, citing the 2015-2017 period of US engagement under Obama as proof: tourism boomed, US businesses engaged, migration flows decreased, and living standards improved significantly.
• Explains a new policy allowing Cuban expatriates to invest in the island as a long-term process, but contends US financial regulations (inability to open accounts, make transactions, trade) are the primary barrier, not Cuban policy.
• Claims broad international political support, specifically citing a statement of condemnation from the G77 and China (134 countries), and material aid from countries including China, Vietnam, Mexico, Russia, Brazil, and Chile.
• References a poll suggesting only 28% of the American public supports the current US policy toward Cuba, appealing to the majority to push for a different relationship.