Cuba's President Says He's 'not Stepping Down' In Interview With Nbc News

Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel insisted that he’s not “stepping down” successful an question and reply pinch NBC News’ “Meet nan Press” moderator Kristen Welker successful Havana connected Thursday.

The Cuban president bristled erstwhile Welker asked if he would beryllium “willing to measurement down to prevention your country” during his first question and reply pinch a U.S. broadcast network.

“In Cuba, nan group who are successful activity positions are not elected by nan U.S. government, and they don’t person a instruction from nan U.S. government. We person a free sovereign state, a free state. We person self-determination and independence, and we are not subjected to nan designs of nan United States,” Díaz-Canel said.

“Stepping down is not portion of our vocabulary,” Díaz-Canel said.

Watch “Meet nan Press NOW” Thursday astatine 4 p.m. ET connected NBC News for this interview, and “Meet nan Press” connected Sunday for nan extended exclusive question and reply and meetthepress.com for nan afloat interview.

The Cuban president’s consequence comes arsenic nan Trump management has been ratcheting up unit connected nan communist state and calling for a alteration successful its government, pinch President Donald Trump calling Cuba a “failing nation” and saying last month, it whitethorn beryllium “a friends takeover, it whitethorn not beryllium a friends takeover.”

Last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Cuba a “disaster,” saying it’s because their “economic strategy doesn’t work.”

“Cubans tin only beryllium successful if they time off nan country,” said Rubio, whose parents near Cuba successful nan 1950s, a fewer years earlier Fidel Castro’s communist takeover.

“That has to change, and for that to change, you person to alteration nan group successful charge,” Rubio said, adding that this required changing nan country’s economical model.

Díaz-Canel took rumor pinch being asked if he would measurement down, asking, “Do you inquire that mobility to Trump?“ and whether nan mobility was “coming from nan State Department of nan U.S.?”

A pedicab drives past a postulation ray that is retired owed to a powerfulness outage successful Havana connected March 4.Yamil Lage / AFP - Getty Images

Díaz-Canel insisted nan country’s leaders “are elected by nan people, though there’s a communicative trying to disregard that. Any 1 of us, earlier we go portion of a activity role, we request to beryllium elected astatine nan grassroot level successful our electoral territory by thousands of Cubans.”

Cuba’s communist government, however, is simply a one-party system that does not let for an guidance party. Candidates to nan country’s National Assembly are chosen successful section elections, but critics constituent retired that location is nary reliable opposition, small transparency and each candidates person to beryllium to nan Communist Party.

For nan past mates of months, Cuba’s authorities has carried retired a media campaign, granting respective news outlets, including NBC News, interviews pinch various authorities officials and addressing nan mounting unit from nan U.S. amid a adjacent economical collapse.

Cuban officials person denounced nan Trump administration’s actions, which trim nan travel of Venezuelan lipid shipments to nan state aft nan seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. also threatened tariffs against immoderate country trading aliases supplying lipid to Cuba. Oil reserves dwindled and created moreover much substance shortages, resulting successful much powerfulness outages crossed nan full country.

Cubans stitchery successful beforehand of their houses during a blackout successful Havana connected March 16. Adalberto Roque / AFP via Getty Images

The conditions person further strained an land federation that for years has endured an economic crisis, rolling blackouts and shortages of nutrient and medicine.

Trump precocious said he had “no problem“ pinch nan presence of a Russian tanker pinch crude oil, saying he didn’t deliberation it would thief prop up nan Cuban government. It was nan first tanker to dock successful 3 months. Russia said it is preparing a second lipid shipment to nan island.

But that wasn’t capable arsenic nan Cuban authorities and residents decry nan existent lipid shortage and deficiency of different basal necessities, which Díaz-Canel and different officials person blamed on nan much than 50-year-old U.S. economical embargo.

The Trump management has pushed backmost connected Cuba’s erstwhile statements. Rubio said connected March 27 that location “is nary naval blockade astir Cuba” and nan logic Cuba doesn’t person immoderate substance “is because it wants it for free and group don’t springiness distant lipid and substance for free unless it was nan Soviet Union subsidizing them aliases Maduro subsidizing them.”

Díaz-Canel blamed U.S. policies for nan existent authorities of nan countries’ relationship.

“I deliberation nan astir important point would beryllium for them to understand and return this captious position, a sincere position, and admit really overmuch it has costs nan Cuban group — and really overmuch they person deprived nan American group from a normal narration pinch nan Cuban people.”

Trump said Rubio has been successful talks pinch Cuba, and Cuban officials person acknowledged talks without either authorities going into details.

Cuba's Deputy Foreign Minister Josefina Vidal told Agence France-Press this week that talks betwixt Cuba and nan United States connected de-escalating tensions are still astatine a “very preliminary” stage.