Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel rejected calls from the Trump administration for him to step down during an exclusive interview with NBC News' "Meet the Press" conducted in Havana on Thursday.

"Stepping down [is] not part of our vocabulary," Díaz-Canel told moderator Kristen Welker when asked about reports that the U.S. government has requested his resignation. The interview marks a rare direct response from the Cuban leader to American diplomatic pressure.

The comments come amid broader tensions between the United States and Cuba over various issues, including Cuba's medical missions abroad. Cuba's foreign minister Bruno Rodríguez has separately accused the United States of "extorting" Latin American countries by pressuring them to cancel agreements with Havana for the deployment of Cuban doctors.

Rodríguez alleged that the U.S. is attempting to "strangle" Cuba's economy, which generates billions of dollars from its foreign medical missions. Several countries have reportedly stopped deploying Cuban doctors following U.S. pressure, according to Cuban officials.

The medical missions have been a significant source of revenue for the communist island nation and a key component of Cuba's foreign policy strategy for decades. The programs involve sending Cuban healthcare workers to provide medical services in other countries, particularly in Latin America and Africa.