President Donald Trump has suggested that the United States could take over Cuba, but on amicable terms, as he was preparing to board his presidential helicopter, Marine One, on the White House lawn en route to Texas.
Approaching the media scrum, Trump took questions about the tense relations the US has with countries like Iran and Cuba, two countries where he has suggested he would like to see new governments.
In Cuba’s case, Trump suggested a transition that would be “very positive for the people who were expelled or worse”, and added that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Cuban American known for his hawkish stance, is leading the initiative.
Regional Context
The US has long had strained relations with Cuba, an island just 145 kilometres, or 90 miles, from its shores, and since the 1960s, the US has imposed a full trade embargo on the island, weakening its economy.
But tensions have accelerated since January 3, when Trump authorised a military operation to abduct and imprison Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a close ally of Cuba, resulting in the death of an estimated 32 Cuban soldiers.
Cuba’s energy grid largely relies on fossil fuels to generate electricity, and the United Nations has warned of the potential for an imminent humanitarian “collapse” on the island if supplies are not restored.
International Response
A panel of UN human rights experts has cast doubt on Trump’s stated rationale that Cuba constitutes an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US national security, due to its relations with China, Russia and other US rivals.
The Trump administration, however, has made little secret of its desire to spread US influence, particularly in the Western Hemisphere, with Trump pledging that the US “will once again consider itself a growing nation”, including through the expansion of its territory.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has repeatedly denounced Trump’s campaign against the island as evidence of US imperialism, and on January 30, he accused Trump of attempting “to strangle the Cuban economy” with the fuel blockade.
Source: [Original Media Outlet Name]
