The Cuban president stated that the United States has no right to demand his resignation from office

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on April 9 that the United States was pursuing a hostile policy towards Cuba and added that Washington had no right to demand his resignation from the post of Cuban leader.

"In Cuba, people in leadership positions are not elected by the U.S. government, and they do not have a mandate from the U.S. government. We have a free sovereign state, a free state," he said in an interview with NBC News.

Diaz-Canel noted that his departure can only happen if he fails to cope with his duties.

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

“Cubans can only be successful if they leave the country,” said Rubio. “That has to change, and for that to change, you have to change the people in charge,” Rubio said, adding that this required changing the country’s economic model.