“I’m very aware of the wide range of problems we face and the new negative issues that arise, such as the energy blockade. But I’ve always seen Cuba resist,” he expressed.

He mentioned that brilliant economists, including some former ministers, “have been advising reforms for years, reforms that are either not undertaken or are received grudgingly,” and commented that “lately, more decisive steps are being taken in that direction.”

“And it’s not because of pressure from the United States. It’s because within Cuba, for years now, there has also been a struggle for more realistic approaches that will benefit our people. I support that, as long as our status as a sovereign nation is not at stake, which I consider fundamental,” he clarified.

“There is a long history of reasons for Cubans to distrust ‘the turbulent and brutal North,’ as our apostle, Jose Marti, described it. For that reason, I suppose a good part of our people would be willing to defend our sovereignty with arms, if necessary,” he asserted.

He remembered that in recent days, after reading “the threats from the President of the United States,” Donald Trump, “saying he was going to take over Cuba,” he made a brief comment and, to his surprise, received an almost immediate response from the island’s armed forces.

In response to a question about “his role” in these times, Rodriguez emphasized that, without belonging to any party, he has “taken a stand for human betterment.”

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