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United States President Donald Trump on February 27 raised the prospect of a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, telling reporters at the White House that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was dealing with the issue at a “very high level.”
“The Cuban government is talking with us, and they’re in a big deal of trouble,” Trump said as he left the White House for a trip to Texas.
“They have no money. They have no anything right now, but they’re talking with us, and maybe we’ll have a friendly takeover of Cuba,” he added.
Cuba lost its main oil supply line last month when Trump ordered a special operation to capture Nicolas Maduro, the long-term leader of Cuban ally Venezuela. More than 30 Cuban troops who were guarding Maduro’s residency in Caracas were killed in the operation.
Tensions between the two countries began to rise after the operation, with Trump even vowing to starve the communist-ruled nation of oil.
The U.S. President’s latest remarks came just two days after Cuba announced that four men on a boat registered in the U.S. were shot and killed by its coast guards after being intercepted within its waters.
U.S. officials told Axios later that the 24-foot boat involved in a deadly clash was stolen in the Florida Keys and had American citizens aboard. Some of those who were on the boat have criminal records, one of the officials said, and at least one of those killed was a U.S. citizen.
Another U.S. citizen was among the injured and is receiving care in Cuba, the U.S.-based news website quoted the official as saying.
Rubio said that the U.S. is investigating the incident and has officially asked Cuba for access to the six injured people, according to Axios.
It was widely speculated that the U.S. will use the incident to escalate against Cuba, possibly even to justify some military action. Nevertheless, Trump’s latest remarks show a desire to de-escalate.
Just a day earlier, Bloomberg reported that the Trump administration is moving towards easing fuel shipments to Cuba’s nascent private sector as part of a plan to make the island more reliant on the U.S. for supplies, increasing Washington’s leverage to bring about political and economic change.
The latest developments indicate that the U.S. is planning to deal with Cuba in a diplomatic manner, that’s at least for the time being. The approach of the Trump administration could change once the escalation in the Middle East eases, after a war or a deal with Iran.
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failed bay of pigs #2 .. and nothing more. its funny they think sending bunch of usa cuban mercs will make it look like some solo boys scout mission but we know really trained them .. 3 letter agency(s)
trump is becoming more unhinged by the day before long he will be worse than genocide joe.
he is the same. the uni party provides all puppets for agenda completion
it’s what happens when the altar of freedom that i$ it’$ greenback turns to $hit… and au and ag become the grim reaper! wall$ cl0$ing in!!!
friendly? you shall do as i say when i say and how i say. cuba threw the mafia out years ago and they are bitter, the us state department lead puppet neo con marco rubio will repeat zio talking points to bring suffering and chaos
…the have no “anything” pedo-otu$ because of your blockades and freezing of international bank account($) through swift, as does syria, lebanon, yemen, russia… time to put your syphilitic brain to rest through a much needed dirt nap before you get the rest of us killed!…
may be the trampy and the narco rubio can have a quick “friendly” takeover but the possibility exists that there will be a resistance that will give “bloody headaches” to occupiers and collaborators for a long time.
peace president or piece of s– — t