The President of the United States, Donald Trump, stated this Friday in remarks to CNN that the Cuban regime is interested in negotiating with Washington, and claimed that Havana “is eager to reach an agreement.”
During a phone interview with journalist Dana Bash, the president made the statement while discussing what he described as the military successes of his administration in the current term.
In the midst of the conversation, he brought up the topic of Cuba in a seemingly spontaneous manner, as revealed by the American network.
"Cuba will fall very soon, by the way, not related (to the topic at hand), but Cuba will also fall. They are eager to reach an agreement," Trump declared.
The president insisted that the Cuban government would be interested in some form of understanding with the United States and suggested that his administration could delegate the matter to his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
“They want to reach an agreement, so I'm going to put Marco (Rubio) in there and we'll see how it goes. We are very focused on this right now. We have plenty of time, but Cuba is ready after 50 years”, he stated.
Trump also stated that he has been watching the political evolution of the island for decades and suggested that the current moment could represent an opportunity for change.
"I have been watching him for 50 years, and he has fallen into my hands because of my fault; he has fallen, but he has still fallen into hands. And we are doing very well," he added during the interview.
Trump insists on the Cuba issue
The president's statements come just one day after he again mentioned Cuba during an address at the White House, where he suggested that the issue holds a significant place on his administration's agenda.
On this Wednesday, Trump stated that it was just a "matter of time" before Cuban Americans could return to their homeland, which he interpreted as a possible outcome of the political changes he anticipates for the island.
"He is doing a job, and the next one will be: we want to take care of that special Cuba," Trump said, referring to his Secretary of State.
"He's waiting. But he says, 'Let's finish this first.' We could do it all at once, but bad things happen," he added.
The president explained that his administration prefers to move forward step by step in its international agenda.
"If we look at countries over the years, we see that if we do everything too quickly, bad things happen. We will not allow anything bad to happen to this country," he stated.
The statements come at a time of heightened tensions in U.S. foreign policy and amid a profound economic and social crisis in Cuba, characterized by food shortages, prolonged blackouts, and an unprecedented wave of migration.
During his first term, Trump adopted a hardline policy towards the Cuban regime, reversing much of the thaw initiated by the Barack Obama administration.
His government imposed new economic sanctions, restricted travel and remittances, and reinstated Cuba on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Since then, the bilateral relationship has been characterized by political confrontation, as Washington continues to denounce human rights violations on the island, while the Cuban government accuses the United States of maintaining an economic pressure policy aimed at provoking a change of system.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Filed under: