In an interview with NBC, a senior Cuban official stated that the country is preparing for a possible military attack, while President Donald Trump increases economic pressure on the government in Havana and suggests that Cuba could be the next US target, after Venezuela and Iran.
“Our armed forces are always prepared,” said Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Fernández de Cossio, in an interview that aired on Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press program. “And, in fact, they are preparing these days for the possibility of military aggression. We would be naive if, considering what is happening in the world, we didn’t do that. But we sincerely hope that that doesn’t happen.”
De Cossio refused to specify military preparations. His comments are in line with Cuba’s defiant stance as Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio intensify rhetoric against communist leadership.
Since confirming negotiations with the US, the Cuban government has released a small number of political prisoners and offered to open its economy to investment from Cubans living abroad. Rubio criticized those offers last week, calling them “unambitious.”
De Cossio stated that although Cuba “is open for business”, political changes dictated by the US and discussions about prisoners in Cuban jails are out of the question.
“The nature of the Cuban government, the structure of the Cuban government and the members of the Cuban government are not part of the negotiation,” he told NBC.
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American sanctions against the Cuban economy have intensified under the Trump administration and now include a de facto blockade of fuel supplies, leaving the island short of energy sources, supplies and financing. A nationwide blackout hit Cuba last week, at least the sixth in about a year. The island recorded another total blackout on Saturday.
“It’s very serious,” de Cossio said of the fuel shortage, adding that he hopes “this boycott imposed by the United States will not last and cannot be sustained forever.”
Cuba “is not collapsing,” he said. “We’re being as creative as possible.”
Earlier this month, Trump said that Cuba “will fall very soon” and that its leaders “very much want to reach a deal.” Later that month, Trump told reporters he would have the “honor” of annexing Cuba, stating, “I think I could do whatever I want with it.” These comments came just days after Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canal acknowledged that Cuban leaders were in negotiations with American leaders to reach an agreement and avoid a military conflict.
On Saturday, in response to Trump’s comments about having the “honor” of taking control of Cuba, Fernández de Cossío said: “We don’t know what they’re talking about. But I can say this: Cuba is a sovereign country and it has the right to be a sovereign country.”
(com Bloomberg)
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