Cynthia Thanda

History is best told by the people who live it, and some stories demand to be heard directly from the source.

On the 25^th of May 2026, His Excellency Antonio Luis Punillones Izaguirre, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to the Republic of Botswana, delivered a powerful statement at the Cuban Embassy in Gaborone:

“We don’t want more dictatorship in our country. We don’t want more pro-consuls dominating our country. We don’t want U.S. imperialism interfering in our internal affairs.”

Delving into Cuba’s history, Ambassador Izaguirre recalled the events of 1996, when Cuba exercised its inalienable right to self-defence against repeated violations of its airspace by aircraft belonging to Brothers to the Rescue, a U.S.-based organisation composed of Cuban pilots.

Its leader, José Basulto, a former CIA operative and confessed terrorist, orchestrated flights directly over Havana—not in international airspace, but over Cuba’s capital itself.

Speaking on more recent developments, the Ambassador condemned the indictment by the U.S. Department of Justice against Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution:

“This is not an act of justice, but a despicable and infamous political provocation. What is the real meaning of this new action? This is a pretext, a provocation. It lacks all legitimacy and jurisdiction, relying on dishonest manipulation of events that occurred in February 1996.”

Izaguirre emphasised Cuba’s longstanding efforts to pursue peace and cooperation, noting that Havana had filed numerous complaints urging the United States to respect its sovereignty.

Yet Washington, he argued, deliberately ignored these appeals, dismissing complaints lodged with the State Department, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

“They used disorganisation under the guise of rescuing Cubans escaping the so-called dictatorship. In reality, there were more than 25 serious and deliberate violations of our sovereignty, revealing complicity in violent actions orchestrated from U.S. territory.

While the hegemonic power proclaims itself the judge of the world, it conceals its own history of disproportionate force. Cuba’s sovereign response in 1996 was fully protected by the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law.”

The Ambassador warned that such provocations serve as a smokescreen for collective punishment, pointing to the tightening of the energy blockade and preparations for possible direct military intervention.

He highlighted a stark reminder from Cuban President His Excellency Miguel Díaz-Canel:

“An armed attack against the island would provoke a bloodbath with incalculable consequences. This warning reflects the reality of a defensive system perfected over decades. The Cubans, faced with mounting threats, are preparing for the defence of their homeland”.

Ambassador Izaguirre explained that the Cuban state maintains an operational deployment that integrates medium- and long-range missile technology with a doctrine of resistance rooted in the collective will of its people.

Each defence zone is unique, designed to ensure that any attempted invasion would confront a territory where every geographical point becomes a combat position.

While imperial powers rely on technological superiority and precision strikes from afar, Cuba’s doctrine guarantees that occupation would transform into an unmanageable logistical and human nightmare for the aggressor.

The Ambassador invoked the words of Antonio Maceo, a hero of Cuba’s 19^th-century independence struggle:

“We have one of our leaders of Cuba’s Independence , I’m talking about the 1870s, Antonio Maceo, who is also one of our heroes. He said, those trying to invade Cuba will only take with them the dust of the Cuban territory, full of blood, if they don’t perish in the struggle, in the fight. You see how principled the Cubans have been since those years?”

“We are ready to defend our country by all means. The attempt to criminalise the leader of the revolution is, in essence, a direct attack on the dignity of an entire nation. The United States seeks to replace international law with the arbitrary will of a power that assumes the role of executioner, but it encounters a people who have made sovereignty a non-negotiable principle.”

Every day, new threats and narratives emerge. Yet Cuba responds with silence out of respect for its neighbours and in adherence to the principles instilled by its leaders.