Cuba’s president said he would not resign, despite repeated threats from Washington to overthrow the island nation’s communist regime.
Though US pressure on Cuba has eased off slightly as the White House’s focus has shifted to the Middle East, President Donald Trump has vowed to replace Havana’s leadership with more pliant officials.
Cuba’s government remains defiant, however, dimming the economic prospects for the country’s 10 million people who are enduring repeated blackouts. The situation also risks a wider diplomatic conflict: Russia, once Cuba’s biggest benefactor, has vowed support, including via energy shipments, which the US has banned. Moscow has “no intention of walking away from its interests in the Western hemisphere,” Reuters reported.