Trump: I want ‘friendly takeover’ of Cuba’
President piles pressure on oil-starved island’s communist leaders as siege bites
The United States is discussing a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, Donald Trump has said.
The US president said Washington was pursuing an amicable form of regime change in Havana, as sanctions continue to cripple the communist-run island.
Tensions between the US and Cuba have risen since Mr Trump imposed an oil siege on the island following the capture of Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, a key ally and oil supplier of Cuba, in January. He has threatened to impose tariffs on any country that exports oil to Cuba.
Havana has so far resisted the United States’ efforts at regime change. But the president’s ban on oil reaching the island means Cuba is now facing economic ruin, forcing it to negotiate with the White House.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Mr Trump said Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, was dealing with the proposal at a “very high level”.
“The Cuban government is talking with us, and they’re in a big deal of trouble,” he said.
“They have no money. They have nothing right now, but they’re talking with us, and maybe we’ll have a friendly takeover of Cuba.”
The shortage of fuel has caused daily life on the island to grind to a halt, with rubbish piling up on the streets as bin lorries are unable to operate at full capacity.
The US has had an oil embargo on Cuba since 1960. It was briefly eased under Barack Obama, but was restored when Mr Trump returned to the White House last year.
The Trump administration views turning Cuba away from communist rule as a key part of its effort to reshape the Western hemisphere and rid America’s backyard of foreign influence.
Mr Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, has played a key role in the Trump administration’s efforts to block oil shipments to the island, which has caused a humanitarian crisis there.
On Wednesday, the secretary of state attended a closed-door meeting of Caricom, the Caribbean group that comprises 15 member states and five associated members. He told those present to cooperate with the US to tackle international crime and drug trafficking through the region.
“We recognise that many of these groups are buying weaponry from the United States, and we are committed and continue to work very hard with our law enforcement agencies to shut that down,” he said.
On Thursday, Cuban border guard troops opened fire on a US-registered speedboat, killing four of the 10 people on board.
Havana said the people on the boat, which was stolen from Florida, were “anti-government” Cubans carrying Molotov cocktails and other weapons, and were trying to infiltrate Cuban waters “for the purposes of terrorism”.
Mr Rubio said the US would investigate the incident and “respond accordingly”.
[Source: Daily Telegraph]
