Cuban leader does not commit to releasing political prisoners amid U.S. demands

[0:00] I want to start with President Trump, because President Trump's threats to take over Cuba come [0:06] as the United States has removed President Maduro from power, has invaded Iran and killed [0:14] its supreme leader. Do you fear you could be killed or arrested by the United States? [0:22] That is a very interesting question. Those of us who have leadership positions in the revolution [0:27] have a strong commitment to our revolution and to our heroic people. And in this connection, [0:32] our responsibility entails the conviction and the commitment that we're willing to give our lives [0:37] for the revolution and for the cause that we defend. So for me, that is not a matter of concern. [0:44] If the time comes, I don't think there would be any justification for the United States to launch a [0:51] military aggression against Cuba or for the U.S. to undertake a surgical operation or the kidnapping [0:58] of a president. If that happens, there'll be fighting and there'll be a struggle. And we'll [1:03] defend ourselves. And if we need to die, we'll die, because as our national anthem says, [1:08] dying for the homeland is to live. What you're saying is very powerful. [1:12] But are you afraid for yourself, for your family? Or are you prepared to, as you say, [1:20] make the ultimate sacrifice if you are attacked? [1:24] I have no fear. I am willing to give my life for the revolution. Of course. I wouldn't like that to [1:34] be the attitude of the U.S. government. Is Cuba actively bracing for the possibility of a military [1:41] attack by the United States? [1:46] Like I've always said in previous meetings and previous interviews, and when I also address [1:54] the Cuban people, it is evident that there are threats out there. It is part of the rhetoric of [2:00] the U.S. government. Cuba has done nothing to offend the U.S. Cuba has never said about attacking the [2:08] United States or interfering with the United States affairs. However, you hear that Cuba is next, that [2:16] Cuba is going to be next, that there is a way out, that they're going to take over Cuba. So from the [2:24] position of responsibility within the leadership of the country, that is a warning. And we need to [2:32] responsibly protect our people, protect our project, and protect our country. So we are preparing [2:38] ourselves for defense. But what is the concept of our preparation for defense? We have a doctrine which [2:44] is entirely defensive. It is not aggressive. It doesn't pose a threat. In addition, we also believe [2:51] that as we prepare ourselves to defend is the best way to avoid war and the best way to preserve peace. [2:58] Let's discuss the situation here in Cuba. The people of Cuba are suffering right now. Your power grid has failed. [3:07] Food and energy are running dangerously low. And these problems existed in some form before the blockade [3:13] was put into effect. Do you take any responsibility for the pain Cubans are experiencing? [3:28] The Cuban people are suffering. [3:29] And this can be seen in two areas, in the national aspect and also at the family level, because everything [3:38] takes place on a daily basis. But what is the main cause for that suffering? Has it been the mistakes [3:46] that I myself have made? Or like I said, a collective leadership? Or is that suffering? Or the government? Or is [3:53] that suffering? Is the result of the policy of intensified blockade that the United States have [4:01] maintained? I think that the people can provide that answer. So these are a number of restrictions [4:06] which are not applied to any other country in the world. Therefore, we lack financing in order to buy [4:12] food, to buy supplies for our main productions and services in order to have the medicines that we [4:19] need and to carry out the repairs that we need for our national energy system and our industrial [4:30] factories. How does that reflect on our people now? [4:32] And yet the people of Cuba say you cannot solely blame the United States because you can trade with [4:40] other countries. The economy has been in decline for the past 10 years. Hundreds of thousands of people [4:46] have left Cuba over the past decade, many of them who are young entrepreneurs. Is that a sign that the [4:55] Cuban economy and government has failed the people of Cuba, la gente de Cuba? [5:02] Like I said, when you see that at the family level, how does that happen? There is a scarcity of [5:08] scarcity of food, scarcity of medicine. The nights become a very long working night when you've been 20 [5:18] hours with a power outage. But this is before the blockade. [5:22] That's when you need people were suffering before the blockade. [5:25] That's when you need people were suffering before the blockade. [5:26] Let me explain. Let me explain. There's a confusion in terms of the approach. For example, [5:31] we were living under the blockade conditions, but the blockade was intensified and further tightens [5:37] and became qualitatively different in the second half of 2019 with implementation of 240 measures [5:43] and with Cuba's inclusion in the list of countries who supposedly sponsored terrorism. So everything [5:50] became worsened. So we have the accumulated effects of the blockade plus the effect of the tightening of [5:57] the blockade. And now the effects are caused by this energy blockade. And I can say this responsibly to [6:07] you. This is not the fault of the Cuban government. [6:10] We saw it with our own eyes. Los vimos con nuestros ojos. People living in severe poverty, sufriendo in [6:19] the streets of Havana, the capital city. Is it time for Cuba to take some responsibility, [6:27] to look in the mirror and to change its economic system for the people of Cuba who are suffering here? [6:33] We conduct very self-critical analysis and assessment of our reality. And we're trying to [6:45] constantly transform and change what we do in order to improve what we do. But that's got nothing to do [6:52] with the political system. It is not our political system that is embracing that inability to move [6:59] forward. Our political system is serving people, is serving social justice and making everyone [7:05] advanced. And it seems that it bothers other people around the world because of what it represents, [7:11] because it is our system for ourselves, not that we want to impose our system on anyone else. And they [7:16] try to block it like this. We understand that there are conversations between Cuba [7:21] and the United States. Do you think it is possible to get a deal with President Trump? [7:27] I think we can have an approach in terms of what is possible and what is difficult. [7:35] I think dialogue and deals with the U.S. government are possible, but they're difficult. Cuba has always [7:42] stood by its commitments and the United States have not fulfilled its part of the deal. In the [7:50] present, the U.S., the U.S. has been engaged in talks with other countries. And while these [7:55] negotiations are not underway, they have attacked those countries. And all of this creates a lot of [8:00] distrust. And we know that inside the United States, there are forces that whenever they see [8:05] that there's a possibility to engage in discussions, to engage in a dialogue, they try to undercut and [8:12] boycott those talks. Are you talking directly to Secretary of State Marco Rubio? And do you trust him? [8:22] We have engaged in talks and we will be in talks as long as the United States agrees to with the U.S. [8:30] representative that they decide in order to have this relationship with us. But these talks are very [8:43] complex processes. First, you have to establish a channel for dialogue. Then you need to build an [8:49] agenda for the discussions. Have you spoken to Secretary Rubio? Yes? I haven't spoken to Secretary [9:01] Rubio. I don't know him. Let's talk about some of the key demands the United States has. It includes [9:08] releasing political prisoners, scheduling multi-party elections, and recognizing unions in a free press. [9:14] Are you willing to commit to any of those conditions that the United States has laid out? [9:21] Bueno, en estos momentos, no hay ninguna, nadie nos ha demandado esa... [9:26] No, nobody has made those, nobody has made those demands to us. And we have established [9:34] that respect to our political system, our constitutional order, [9:38] are issues that are not under negotiations with the United States. And we need to overcome, Kirsten. [9:45] So let me, they're giving me the hard rap. So let me, let me get these questions out. [9:49] There are still more than 1,200 political prisoners, including one of the most high-profile political [9:54] prisoners, Cuban rapper Michael Osorbo, who's been in prison since 2021 for writing a protest song [10:02] that won two Latin Grammys. Will you commit to releasing him and the other political prisoners? [10:13] That's another issue in which you can see all of these bias and all these prejudices. They speak [10:18] about political prisoners in Cuba. Like you said, when the people is going through a very difficult [10:23] situation, there are people in Cuba who are not in favor of the revolution. There are people who do not [10:28] support the revolution and they manifest themselves on a daily basis against the revolution and they're [10:35] not in prison. This narrative that has been created, that image that anyone who speaks against a [10:44] revolution is thrown into jail, that's a big lie. That's a slander and that's part of that construct in [10:51] order to vilify and to engage a character assassination of the Cuban revolution. [11:00] Would you be willing to step down if it meant saving Cuba? [11:13] You are a very important and recognized journalist. Have you ever asked that question to any other [11:21] president in the world? Because it's one of the conditions the United States is asking for. [11:26] Would you ever consider that? Let me explain. Have you asked that question to any other president [11:32] in the world? Have you asked that question to any other president in the world? [11:36] Could you ask that question to Trump? Very hard questions of President Trump. [11:43] Is that a question from you or is that coming from the State Department of the U.S. Government? [11:47] My question is because it's one of the things that we've heard the U.S. government talk about, [11:52] that they want political change here in Cuba. So my question is for you. If they asked you, [11:58] if they said this is one condition, would you say yes? Because of your honesty, I'm going to assume that [12:04] you're asking that question because of those reasons. In Cuba, the people who are in leadership [12:12] position is not elected by the U.S. government and they don't have a mandate from the U.S. government. [12:18] We have a free sovereign state, a free state. We have self-determination and independence, [12:24] and we are not subjected to the designs of the United States. On the other hand, Cuban leaders [12:35] are not here representing an elite of power. You can see my background, where I was born, [12:41] my family, what I've done throughout my life. We are elected by the people, although there's a narrative [12:47] trying to disregard that. Any one of us, before we become part of a leadership role, we need to be [12:53] elected at the grassroots level in an electoral district by thousands of Cubans. And then those [12:59] who represent the Cubans at the National Assembly of the People's Power elect those leadership positions [13:05] and those offices like it happens in many other countries around the world. So we have an election [13:10] system on the basis of people's participation. So whenever we take this responsibility position, [13:16] and this leadership position is not out of our personal ambition or corporate ambition or even [13:24] a party ambition, we do that as a mandate by the people. And the concept of revolutionaries giving up [13:32] and stepping down is not part of our vocabulary. If the Cuban people understand that I am not fit for [13:40] office, that I am not at the reason to the occasion, then I should not be holding this position of [13:48] president, I will respond to them. But you need to realize that you should not focus only on the [13:58] president of the country because we have a collegiate leadership, which is very closely linked to the [14:03] people. But it's not the United States that can impose anything on us. [14:07] We thank you for watching. And remember, stay updated on breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app [14:14] or watch live on our YouTube channel.