Reuters – He said this Sunday that he was deeply concerned about the increased tensions between the United States and Cuba, calling for a ‘sincere and effective dialogue’ to avoid violence and more suffering for the Cuban people.
U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that tariffs would be imposed on imports from countries that supply oil to Cuba, increasing pressure on longtime foe Washington following the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a key Cuban ally, in early January.
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Trump stated that the threat of tariffs was necessary to protect “US national security and foreign policy from the evil actions and policies of the Cuban regime.”
Leão 14 stated that he had received reports ‘with great concern’ about the increase in tensions between Cuba and the United States. He joined the Cuban bishops in ‘urging those responsible to promote sincere and effective dialogue to avoid violence and further suffering for the Cuban people’, in statements made after the Angelus prayer.
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Last week, Trump predicted that ‘Cuba will collapse very soon,’ adding that Venezuela, once the island’s main oil supplier, had not sent oil or money to Cubans recently.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez declared a ‘state of international emergency’ in response to the US tariff warning, which, according to him, constitutes ‘an unusual and extraordinary threat’.
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On Saturday, Trump reiterated his call for Cuba to negotiate with the United States.
“It doesn’t have to be a humanitarian crisis,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Florida.
(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro)
