Democratic senators introduced a resolution in the United States regarding war powers to prevent Donald Trump from attacking Cuba without Congressional authorization, in an effort to compel a vote on the president's stated intention to "take" the Island.
The initiative, as reported by The Associated Press, was introduced by Tim Kaine, Ruben Gallego, and Adam Schiff. It would require the president to withdraw armed forces from any hostilities with Cuba and could be put to a vote before the end of March.
The proposal arises amid a new verbal escalation by Trump regarding Cuba.
According to the text, the president said earlier this week that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was negotiating with the Cuban leadership while the country is facing a severe energy crisis exacerbated by the U.S. blockade.
In that scenario, Trump stated that the eventual operation could be "a friendly takeover" or it might not be, and he added that he and Rubio would focus on that objective after the war with Iran.
The democratic resolution is grounded in the constitutional prerogative of Congress to declare war.
In a statement mentioned in the AP report, Kaine held that “only Congress has the power to declare war according to the Constitution”, and accused Trump of acting as if the U.S. armed forces were a “palace guard” by ordering military actions in the Caribbean, Venezuela, and Iran without legislative authorization or explanations to the American people.
Strategies of the Democrats
Democrats have already resorted several times to resolutions of this kind to force the Senate to debate Trump's foreign policy, although so far Republicans have largely supported the president.
The text emphasizes that none of those resolutions have succeeded, but they have served to pressure the administration to clarify its objectives before Congress.
In addition to the Cuban case, Democrats plan to force votes next week on other war powers resolutions related to Iran, unless Republicans agree to hold public hearings on that conflict.
Gallego, also mentioned in the statement, asserted that Trump campaigned with the slogan "America first," but has now become a "puppet of the warmongers in his party."
The backdrop of the initiative is a growing concern among Democrats that Cuba may become the next target of Trump's aggressive foreign policy.
The text recalls that, for decades, Washington has maintained a tense relationship with Havana, but the current president's tendency to use military force against foreign adversaries has raised expectations that the Island could be the next scene of intervention.
Marco Rubio's role emerges as one of the key factors in that scenario. The current Cuban-American Secretary of State has long advocated a tough policy towards the Cuban dictatorship.
Rubio also told senators earlier this year that the Trump administration would "love" to see a regime change in Cuba, although he clarified that this “does not mean we are going to provoke it directly.”
With this resolution, the Democrats aim to establish a legislative barrier against any unilateral military action against Cuba and to reopen the debate in Congress regarding the limits of presidential power in foreign policy.
The measure does not guarantee by itself that Trump will be prevented from acting, but it does aim to compel the Senate to publicly state whether the president can lead the United States into a new confrontation in the Caribbean without legislative approval.
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