Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has fired back at comments by U.S. President Donald Trump about a possible takeover of Cuba.

On Monday, Mr Trump told reporters he thought he would have the “honour of taking Cuba”.

“I do believe I’ll be … having the honour of taking Cuba. That would be good. That’s a big honour,” he said during an executive order signing at the White House.

On Tuesday, Mr Díaz-Canel said the U.S. would face “unbreakable resistance” if it attempted a takeover.

In a post on X, Mr Díaz-Canel said the U.S. publicly threatened Cuba, almost daily, to overthrow the constitutional order by force.

“This is the only way to explain the fierce economic war being waged as collective punishment against the entire people,” said Mr Díaz-Canel.

For weeks, Mr Trump has been repeating that Cuba is on the brink of collapse.

Under Mr Trump, Washington has increased economic pressure on Cuba, aiming to cut off the flow of foreign currency and oil to the Caribbean island.

The pressure intensified after U.S. authorities carried out an operation in January in which Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro was arrested in the capital Caracas and taken to the U.S.

The move deprived Havana of one of its most important allies, which had long supported the island, particularly through oil supplies, amid the decades-long U.S. trade embargo with Cuba.

Currently, Cuba is in one of its most severe economic crises since the revolution led by Fidel Castro in 1959.

(dpa/NAN)