“When we return from Iran, we will have one of our large ships, perhaps the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, the largest in the world, approach, stop about 100 meters off the coast [de Cuba] and tell us, ‘Thank you very much, we surrender,'” Trump said at a private dinner in Florida.
United States President Donald Trump mentioned the possibility of the country “taking control” of Cuba in the near future, suggesting a hypothetical military intervention after “finishing the job” in Iran.
During a private dinner at the Forum Club in Florida, Trump mentioned a member of the audience, originally from the Caribbean island and stated: “And he comes from a place called Cuba, which we are going to take over almost immediately”, in a comment that provoked laughter among those present.
The leader continued the intervention, associating this supposed action with North American foreign policy towards the Middle East. “Let’s finish one first, I like to finish the job,” he added, referring to the conflict with Iran.
“When we return from Iran, we will have one of our large ships, perhaps the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, the largest in the world, approach, stop about 100 meters off the coast [de Cuba] and tell us, ‘Thank you very much, we surrender,'” Trump added, referring to the supposed response from Cuban authorities.
The New York tycoon uttered these words with an apparently joking attitude, while part of the audience reacted with laughter.
The comments were made on the same day that Donald Trump tightened sanctions against Cuba, claiming that the country represents “an extraordinary threat” to the national security of the United States.
The new sanctions, decided through a presidential decree, target foreign banks that collaborate with the Cuban government and impose immigration restrictions, increasing pressure on Havana amid the economic crisis.
In this decree, Donald Trump imposes sanctions against people and entities involved in the energy, mining and other sectors of the island, as well as anyone found guilty of “serious violations of human rights”.
Washington accuses the Cuban Government of carrying out “policies and practices designed to harm the United States”, contrary to “the moral and political values of free and democratic societies”.
The Cuban Government described the new sanctions as “illegal and abusive”. “Reprehensible, but curious and ridiculous. The US Government is alarmed and responds with new illegal and abusive unilateral coercive measures against Cuba,” wrote Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez on social media.
Bruno Rodríguez considered Washington’s new measures a response “to the Labor Day parade with more than half a million Cubans in Havana, led by Army General Raúl Castro and the President, Miguel Díaz-Canel, and to the signatures of six million Cuban men and women (81% of the population over 16 years old) in defense of the homeland under military threat, denouncing the intensified blockade and energy embargo.”
“The Fatherland, the Revolution and Socialism defend themselves with ideas and weapons. They will not intimidate us”, emphasized the Cuban Foreign Minister.
Since last January, the US has been pressuring the Cuban government to implement economic and political reforms.
As part of this escalation, Washington imposed an oil blockade that significantly worsened the structural crisis that is already plaguing the Caribbean nation.
