Renowned Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez ignited a wave of solidarity on social media after publicly declaring his readiness to take up arms should the United States act on President Donald Trump's threats against Cuba, reflecting a broader mood of defiance across the island amid escalating tensions.
With the candor and conviction for which he is widely known, Cuban troubadour Silvio Rodríguez drew a firm line in the face of threats from U.S. President Donald Trump: "I demand my AKM if they launch an attack. And let it be known I mean this very seriously."
The forceful statement, posted on Rodríguez's blog Segunda Cita, spread rapidly across social media platforms, resonating with a broad cross-section of Cubans prepared to defend the Caribbean nation against a U.S. administration that has alternated between overtures of dialogue and open threats of invasion.
In the comments section beneath the post by the author of iconic songs such as Ojalá and El unicornio azul, Cuban filmmaker Rebeca Chávez echoed the call, demanding the same emblematic Russian-made rifle —a weapon familiar to generations of Cubans— "with three or four magazines, and I also ask to be by your side… Is that asking too much?"
Cuban researcher and economist Fidel Vascós joined those rallying behind the musician's message: "Together with Silvio, also with an AKM," while user René Rodríguez Rivera wrote: "Get me one so I can dig in right here on my rooftop."
Doris García replied to Rodríguez: "Brother, by your side with my rifle. Ready for combat," closing with a verse from his song Preludio de Girón: "Nobody is going to die, least of all now…"
On Thursday, journalist Manuel Somoza recounted on Facebook, under the headline Citizen Demand From the Heart of the Blockade, how the same question surfaced at a gathering of Cubans over the age of 60: "When do they hand us the AKMs?" one of them asked. Somoza noted that what he had initially dismissed as an outburst of anger following events in Venezuela had since recurred at multiple similar gatherings, particularly after Trump decreed the oil blockade against Cuba.
Not all voices, however, called for confrontation. Cuban citizen Tania Alarcón urged restraint on Facebook: "Everything possible must be done to achieve peace. I don't know what those who irresponsibly call for war are thinking. All wars are destructive and horrible. My mother wept while pregnant with me at images from Vietnam, and I have wept over all the horrors of today. In that feminine sense of the motherland, I ask for peace, so that my 21-year-old son can remain in love and have a future —difficult, but without destruction or missiles. Peace is what multiplies love."
The Cuban government has repeatedly called for resolving differences with Washington based on mutual respect for sovereignty and the right to self-determination. Preserving peace has remained a cornerstone of the bilateral dialogue that Cuba has consistently advocated.
Concern for Cuba and its people has now extended well beyond its borders. Cuban actor and filmmaker Jorge Perugorría stated at the Málaga Film Festival in Spain that the U.S. government's decision to "strangle" Cuba is pushing the country "to the brink of a humanitarian crisis."
Journalist Josué Veloz, writing on the platform La Tizza, reminded readers that the primary struggle in Cuba today is for daily life —for electricity, food, and hope. "In that battle, the peoples of the world have the floor. Not to replace states, but to compel them to act," he wrote in an editorial titled None of Those Who Made Concessions to Survive Survived.
"The final question is not for Cuba," Veloz added. "Cuba has already given its answer with 67 years of Revolution. The question is for the world."
The response from international civil society has been swift. A solidarity convoy called Nuestra América, arriving from Europe, reached Havana on Tuesday carrying medicines, food, and renewable energy equipment, which began to be distributed to hospital facilities in the capital the following day.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel welcomed the group on the social platform X, expressing gratitude for "the tenderness of the peoples" in the face of the U.S. effort to suffocate the island. The convoy currently includes 120 activists on the ground, with additional members expected to arrive in the coming hours from Chile, the United States, and Mexico. (CubaSí)