The Cuban government this Friday presented an AKM assault rifle to renowned singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez «in just recognition of his patriotic willingness to take up arms to defend the Homeland against any aggression» from the United States against the island. The musician received the rifle at a solemn ceremony, in the presence of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, and from the hands of Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Álvaro López Miera, reported the Cuban government on social media. The Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (Minfar) justified on social networks that it granted Rodríguez «his combat rifle in compliance with his noble and revolutionary demand» just two days after the singer-songwriter had requested it in a message published on his personal blog. «I demand my AKM, if they attack. And let it be known that I say this very seriously», Rodríguez wrote last Wednesday on his personal website, Segunda Cita, referring to a possible scenario of a U.S. military attack on Cuba. This statement generated controversy on social media at a time when political confrontation between the Cuban and U.S. governments has escalated, even though it has been exactly a week since Havana recognized a dialogue with Washington representatives. Rodríguez's reaction, at 79 years old, came in the same week that U.S. President Donald Trump stated that it would be «an honor to take» the island. The measure is rapidly aggravating the already precarious situation in Cuba, which has been mired in a deep economic crisis for six years. Díaz-Canel reacted to these statements, warning that «any external aggressor will run into an impregnable resistance» in Cuba. The United States has been pressuring Cuba since January — with the United States targeting Venezuela and Iran next — to implement reforms, primarily economic ones. As a pressure measure, the United States has imposed an oil blockade on the island, a measure that the UN has deemed contrary to international law.
