"Cuba, which knows well the meaning of having been a colony and neocolony of two empires, is clear that it will never again be one of any," wrote Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Tuesday on his X account, in response to a controversial cartographic post made by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account, which displayed maps of Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean covered with the U.S. flag.

The Cuban leader firmly asserted that "the blood that has cost its independence, sovereignty, and self-determination will not be in vain, and we will defend it to the last consequences."

For his part, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez addressed the situation with an ironic tone, pointing out that the geographical projections of the current U.S. administration will end up leaving its own citizens "disoriented" on the international stage.

"Soon they will not know in which gulf, lake, building, country, continent, or planet they are," the Cuban chancellor joked on his digital platforms, adding the voice of the island's diplomacy to the widespread rejection of the provocative illustration circulated online.

This new episode occurs amid an unprecedented escalation between Havana and Washington during 2026, marked by a stringent oil blockade, secondary sanctions aimed at driving away foreign capital, and the constant threat of a potential military intervention by the superpower.

The controversy arose from a map shared by Trump, in which the colors of the U.S. flag appear covering vast territories including Mexico, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and the Caribbean region, prompting immediate diplomatic reactions across the region.

The post included no text or explanation. In the image, the territory extending from Mexico to Canada appears covered with red and white stripes, while the areas of Canada and Alaska show a blue field with more stars than those on the U.S. flag. Both the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of California are labeled as "Gulf of America."

Cuba's president described the United States as an "executioner" following Washington's imposition of new sanctions against Cuban citizens and entities.

In response to the recent provocations and the cartography disseminated by the Trump administration, governments in the region and international allies have stepped forward to adopt firm stances in defense of sovereignty.

Meanwhile, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also spoke out forcefully through her social media, stating that Mexican territory "is not and will not be a colony or protectorate of any foreign country."

In the context of September's patriotic celebrations, the head of state reiterated that Mexico remains firm as a free, independent, and sovereign country, categorically rejecting both the map superimposing U.S. insignia over national territory and the suggestion to change the name of the state of New Mexico to "New America," with the original word crossed out in red.

This comes as Trump on Sunday published an image of the map of New Mexico in which the word "Mexico" appears crossed out and replaced by "America," symbolically converting the name of that region into "New America."

Sheinbaum on Trump's Map: Mexico Is Not a Colony of Any Country

Cuba and Mexico are not the only ones in the U.S. president's crosshairs, as during his term he has attempted to annex sovereign territories and bodies of water. He has done so with Canada and Venezuela—which he has referred to at various times as the "51st state"—and with Greenland, but also with the Strait of Hormuz, whose sovereignty belongs to Iran, but which Trump has claimed without basis and has floated the possibility of renaming as the "Trump Strait."

Iceland Responds to Trump: We Will Never Be the 51st State of the U.S.

Likewise, Iceland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that Foreign Minister Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir summoned U.S. Ambassador Billy Long in response to the controversial image posted by Trump on Truth Social.

"During the meeting, it was made clear that said publication was completely inappropriate," Iceland's Ministry stated in a release.