Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American staunch opponent of the communist government, has stated that the United States hopes to avoid the use of force and to prioritize a “diplomatic solution.”
The U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Cuba on Thursday that the United States was “determined” to impose a change in the communist regime, following the indictment by the American justice system of former Cuban president Raul Castro. “Their economic system does not work. It is failing, and it cannot be fixed with the current political system,” Rubio told reporters from his hometown of Miami.
Rubio also emphasized that Cuba had accepted an offer of $100 million in aid, under certain conditions. He highlighted that this aid should not fall into the hands of the military-economic conglomerate Gaesa, which controls a significant portion of Cuba’s economy. Earlier this month, Washington imposed sanctions on Gaesa.
Raul Castro, the brother of the late Fidel Castro, has been indicted for conspiring to assassinate Americans in 1996, leading to outrage in Cuba. The official newspaper Granma reported that mass organizations are calling for a gathering on Friday morning to condemn the U.S. administration’s actions.
The U.S. Justice Department’s acting minister, Todd Blanche, expects Raul Castro to spend his remaining days in prison in the United States. Meanwhile, Beijing expressed strong opposition to “illegal unilateral sanctions” and the abuse of judicial means.
Recent developments have occurred amid heightened tensions between Washington and Havana, as well as an economic and energy crisis in Cuba, which has been experiencing prolonged power outages.
In addition to the U.S. embargo in place since 1962, Washington has imposed a total oil blockade on the Caribbean nation since January. Following the capture of Maduro, the Trump administration is openly pushing for change in Havana and exerting maximum pressure on the communist regime, located approximately 145 kilometers from Florida’s coast.
The U.S. military announced that the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz entered the Caribbean. When asked if this deployment was intended to intimidate Cuba, President Trump responded on Thursday: “No, not at all.”
