Lis Cuesta Peraza, the spouse of Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel, took to her X account on Tuesday to post a quote from Fidel Castro about aircraft carriers and nuclear bombs. This subtle retort was directed at President Donald Trump's threats to deploy the USS Abraham Lincoln near Cuban shores.
Cuesta's message on X, tagged with #LaPatriaSeDefiende, revisits a "reflection" by Castro dated May 4, 2008. The piece, titled "Yankee Hemispheric Response: The Fourth Fleet of Intervention," was her chosen response to Trump's declarations.
The selected quote from Castro reads: "The aircraft carriers and nuclear bombs threatening our nations are tools of terror and death. They should also serve to shame the empire's accomplices and bolster solidarity among peoples."
A Historical Parallel
The connection to current events is clear. On May 1st, Trump, during a private dinner in West Palm Beach, Florida, threatened to send the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln "within 100 meters of the Cuban coast" to force the regime's surrender. He conditioned this on completing military operations in Iran first.
"Once we're back from Iran, we'll have one of our great... We'll bring it close... and they'll say: 'Thank you. We surrender,'" Trump reportedly remarked regarding the carrier's deployment.
Cuban Government's Defiant Stance
The Cuban regime countered with rhetoric of resistance, frequently invoking Fidel Castro as an ideological figurehead. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla declared that "Cubans will not be intimidated" and warned that Cuba would become "a hornet's nest and deadly trap in the event of an attack."
Lis Cuesta's post draws a historical line from the threats of 2008, when Castro responded to the reactivation of the U.S. Navy's Fourth Fleet, to those of 2026. Back then, Castro detailed the Nimitz-class carriers and condemned their use as "instruments of terror."
Heightened Hostility Between the U.S. and Cuba
Despite the attached image in Cuesta's post showing a book page with the phrase: "I only wish to fight as a soldier of ideas," bearing Fidel Castro's handwritten signature, tension between Washington and Havana has swelled in recent weeks. Since January 2026, the United States has imposed over 240 new sanctions on Cuba.
On April 28, the U.S. Senate rejected a Democratic resolution aiming to limit Trump's war powers over Cuba, with 51 votes against and 47 in favor. In response to mounting pressure, the regime has organized mobilizations under the "War of All the People" doctrine. Díaz-Canel proclaimed that "no aggressor, no matter how powerful, will find surrender in Cuba."
Understanding the Current U.S.-Cuba Tensions
What prompted Lis Cuesta's response on social media?
Lis Cuesta responded to President Trump's threats of deploying a U.S. aircraft carrier near Cuba by referencing a historical quote from Fidel Castro about carriers and nuclear weapons.
How has the Cuban government reacted to recent U.S. threats?
The Cuban government has expressed defiance, with officials like Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla stating that Cuba will not be intimidated, and Díaz-Canel affirming that there will be no surrender to any aggressor.
What is the significance of the USS Abraham Lincoln in this context?
The USS Abraham Lincoln is a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that symbolizes U.S. military might. Its potential deployment near Cuba is meant as a psychological tactic to pressure the Cuban regime.