The mood in Havana is defiant following the U.S. military action in Venezuela and the capture of its president.
Early this morning, the Cuban government organized an emergency rally outside the U.S. Embassy in Havana to condemn the U.S. capture of Maduro. Around 30,000 people attended. President Miguel Díaz Canel characterized the Trump administration’s military operation as “a criminal assault against our America” and “an unacceptable attack on international law.”
Participants at the rally were mainly older — reflecting the strata of society that tend to be likelier to support the government — and indignant at what they see as an abduction.
Mirna Fernandez, 53, who said she worked as a synchronized swimming teacher in Venezuela from 2012 to 2014, said she was worried about her 12-year-old godson who lives in Caracas.
“I have many dear friends there who took me in as family,” she said. “That’s why I’m here, for my family in Venezuela and for the Venezuelan people.”
Venezuela supplies Cuba with oil, with around 30,000 barrels arriving in Cuba every day. Already, most of Cuba is living most of the day without power.
There is also a fear in Cuba that the developments in Venezuela could cause a deterioration of the quality of life because of power issues, including with spoiling food, trash and mosquitos.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a news conference earlier today that “Cuba is a disaster,” echoing comments made by Trump.
“It’s run by incompetent, senile men,” Rubio said. It has no economy; it’s in total collapse.”
Cuba has been the target of “maximum pressure” sanctions that aim to wreck the economy. Economists say they cost the country billions of dollars a year. Rubio was the architect of them during the first Trump administration, and they have been ratcheted up in the last few months.
Rubio said Maduro’s guards and Venezuela’s spy agency were “full of Cubans.”
“If I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I’d be concerned, at least a little bit,” he said.