Carlos Fernández de Cossío: Cuba 'preparing' for 'possibility of military aggression'

Cuba is preparing for imaginable U.S. aggression adjacent arsenic Trump medication officials person precocious signaled they are not readying an invasion, Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío said Sunday.

"Our subject is ever prepared, and successful information it is preparing these days for the anticipation of subject aggression," Fernández de Cossío told NBC News’ "Meet the Press" successful an interrogation that aired Sunday.

"We would beryllium naive if, looking astatine what’s happening astir the world, we would not bash that."

"But we genuinely anticipation that it doesn’t occur. We don’t spot wherefore it would person to occur, and we find nary justification whatsoever — wherefore would the authorities of the United States unit its state to instrumentality subject enactment against a neighboring state similar Cuba."

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Cuban Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio said his state 'absolutely' volition basal steadfast against authorities alteration astatine the hands of President Donald Trump. (ADALBERTO ROQUE / AFP)

The Cuban official’s remarks travel conscionable days aft President Donald Trump said it would beryllium "a large honor" to beryllium the president that has the "honor of taking Cuba."

"Taking Cuba successful immoderate form, yeah, taking Cuba – I mean, whether I escaped it, instrumentality it: I deliberation I tin bash thing I privation with it, you privation to cognize the truth," Trump said, contempt the information Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed diplomacy with the failing authorities implicit immoderate speech of an penetration arsenic Trump's connection mightiness suggest.

"They’re successful a batch of trouble, and the radical successful charge, they don’t cognize however to hole it," Rubio said this week. "So they person to get caller radical successful charge."

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump person some expressed repeated anticipation that Cuba would beryllium freed from its long-standing dictatorship. ((AP Photo/Evan Vucci))

But Fernández de Cossío said Cuba is "absolutely" opposed to authorities change, signaling defiance of Trump and Rubio's nationalist statements and mounting the signifier for imaginable subject enactment down the road.

"Our state has historically been acceptable to mobilize, arsenic a federation arsenic a whole, for subject aggression," Fernández de Cossío told NBC's Kristen Welker. "We genuinely ever spot it arsenic thing acold from us. We don’t judge it is thing that is probable. But we would beryllium naive if we bash not prepare. That’s what I tin archer you."

Asked whether Cuba was bracing for the United States "to instrumentality it successful immoderate form," Fernández de Cossío answered: "Truly, we don’t cognize what they’re talking about."

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"But I tin archer you this: Cuba is simply a sovereign state and has the close to beryllium a sovereign state and has the close to self-determination," helium added. "Cuba would not judge to go a vassal authorities oregon a babelike authorities from immoderate different state oregon immoderate different superpower."

Fernández de Cossío said Cuba was prepared to negociate with Rubio contempt the caput of state’s longstanding disapproval of the Cuban government.

"We are acceptable to negociate with the idiosyncratic that the U.S. government, arsenic a sovereign nation, designates arsenic their spokesperson, arsenic their pb negotiator, and we’re acceptable to negociate with whoever is designated by the U.S. government," helium said. "They’re a sovereign nation. We don’t interfere with that."

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Throughout the interview, the Cuban diplomat formed Havana’s presumption arsenic defensive, saying Cuba "has nary quarrel with the United States" and wants "a respectful relationship," portion blaming the island’s worsening vigor and economical situation connected U.S. pressure, including efforts to choke disconnected substance supplies. Recent reporting has documented Cuba’s deepening blackout situation and the Trump administration’s accrued efforts to isolate the authorities economically.

"What does ‘on its own’ mean erstwhile it’s being forced by the United States?" Fernández de Cossío said erstwhile asked astir Trump’s assertion that Cuba could illness connected its own. "It’s a precise bizarre statement."

His closing connection to Trump was conciliatory, adjacent arsenic helium warned that Cuba was preparing for the worst.

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"Cuba has nary quarrel with the United States," Fernández de Cossío said. "We bash person the request and the close to support ourself. 

"But we are consenting to beryllium down, we’re unfastened for business, and we’re each being unfastened to having a respectful narration that I’m definite the bulk of Americans would enactment and I’m definite the president of the United States would enactment if we could beryllium down and speech meaningfully astir it."