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The United States' policy towards Cuba will continue to focus on supporting the Cuban people and applying pressure on the regime, without considering negotiations with Havana, according to a senior official from the State Department who spoke this Friday to Martí Noticias.
The source described the Cuban government as a "collapsed regime, led by elderly individuals whose sole objective is to maintain political control", and stated that it lacks ideas or plans to move the country forward.
Regarding the sanctions imposed by Washington, the official defended them as a tool aimed exclusively at the military and security apparatus of the island.
If all sanctions were lifted tomorrow, the only thing that would happen is that the military would steal more money to hide it in accounts in Switzerland. Nothing would change in Cuba,” he stated.
He reiterated that U.S. citizens can do business with private Cuban entrepreneurs, and that it is the regime itself that prevents this type of trade, not the United States.
He also described the Cuban government's accusation of the embargo as the cause of the economic crisis as a "worn-out narrative."
If they don't have cars, it's not because they can't afford them. They can acquire them, but they don't have money because their system doesn't produce. And when they manage to secure a contract, they don't pay their debts,” he criticized.
"The problem of Cuba is not its relationship with the United States, but the decisions made by its own ruling elite. There is nothing to negotiate, because they themselves do not know what they want to do," the official said.
He also rejected that there are negotiations taking place regarding migration agreements with Havana, referring to the issue of deportations. “There is nothing to negotiate. Each country has the obligation to accept its citizens. It is their duty, period,” he stated. Although he acknowledged that Havana only accepts certain deportees, the United States continues with repatriation flights.
Regarding the current context, he recalled that in just two years, Cuba has lost more than 13% of its population, primarily young people, in an unprecedented exodus. “People are fleeing not because of a U.S. magnet, but because they want to escape the island to anywhere.”
When asked about the presence of Russian and Chinese intelligence on Cuban territory, the official acknowledged his concern but emphasized that it does not change the reality of a directionless regime that survives by stealing and hiding funds abroad.
Regarding human rights, he denounced that Cuba maintains one of the highest per capita rates of political prisoners in the world. "We will continue to push for their release, but without turning the release into a business, as Maduro did," he stated.
Finally, he assured that the administration of Donald Trump maintains a clear stance towards Cuba. “President Trump is clear and consistent: he says what he does and does what he says. There will be no funding for the regime. There will be support for the people seeking change,” he concluded.
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