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The Republican congressman from Florida, Carlos A. Giménez, stated this Friday that there will be no investment from the United States in Cuba until there are “significant political changes” on the island, in a new statement rejecting reports about a possible economic opening without transformations in the Cuban political system.
“There will be NO investment from the USA in Cuba unless there are SIGNIFICANT political changes on the island,” he wrote on X.
In that same message, he asserted that the Cuban regime needs the United States, but not the other way around, and criticized media outlets for, in his opinion, amplifying rumors fueled from Havana.
"The regime needs us; we do not need them. It’s a shame that the compliant press gives attention to the 'rumors' that the regime spreads," added the Cuban-American legislator.
The statement is part of a political and economic pressure campaign that the congressman has been publicly supporting in alignment with President Donald Trump.
Pressure on the Cuban regime
Before that message on X, Giménez had stated in comments to Fox News that the strategy promoted from Washington is placing the Cuban government in a position of extreme weakness.
According to him, "the Cuban dictatorship is weaker than ever" after decades in power, while "the courage of the Cuban people continues to grow."
The Republican representative attributed that scenario to the pressure exerted by Trump against Havana. "President Trump's pressure is pushing the Castro regime to the brink of the abyss!" he stated.
In line with that, he presented the current moment as one of increasing fragility for the Cuban power structure.
Giménez has also linked his stance to his personal experience as a Cuban exile.
In another public statement, he said that his commitment to Cuba's freedom is not just a political stance, but "the work of my life."
He recalled that he emigrated from the Island after the triumph of the communist regime and confirmed that he knows “firsthand the cost of losing a nation to tyranny.”
The United States "is firmly on the side of the people."
In his statements, the congressman has also praised the current U.S. government's foreign policy toward authoritarian regimes.
He stated that under the leadership of Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Washington is taking a strong stance against what he called "the axis of oppression" that threatens the hemisphere and the world.
He also stated that the message from the United States is clear: "it is firmly on the side of the people."
The legislator also assured that he will continue to exert pressure from Congress to promote political changes not only in Cuba but also in Venezuela and Iran.
Giménez's latest statements come in a context of increasing political pressure from Washington on the Cuban government.
During a reception prior to the regional summit Shield of the Americas, held in Doral with the participation of a dozen heads of state from the hemisphere, the congressman stated that the Cuban political system is nearing its end.
Giménez has also raised in recent weeks the possibility that U.S. authorities may file charges against Raúl Castro and other high-ranking Cuban officials for alleged crimes against American citizens.
Among the mentioned cases is the shooting down in 1996 of two aircraft belonging to Brothers to the Rescue, in which four people died.
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