The U.S. Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, stated that Washington's goal regarding Cuba is to force change and allow the Cuban people to be free, without provoking a humanitarian crisis on the Island.
The statements were made in an interview with Kim Strassel for the opinion program of the Wall Street Journal, published on the same day that marked the 65th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs invasion.
We do not want a humanitarian crisis. "We want to force change and let the Cuban people be free," said Wright, who described Cuba as a country that exports "mercenaries to the world, destabilization, and problems," while generating "extreme poverty" at home.
Wright described communism as a "ruinous economic system" and traced the Island's history of external dependence: first supported by the Soviet Union, then by Venezuela, which sent more oil than Cuba could import, allowing the island to resell it abroad and generate dollars to sustain what he called its "mercenary economy" and to keep the people "suppressed."
The official noted that the decrease in that external support opens up an opportunity for transformation: "It is another economy that could grow rapidly if they simply removed the communist system, the failed communist system. It would be great for Cubans, for America, and for the hemisphere."
In energy matters, Wright was straightforward: the U.S. law passed by Congress prohibits the sale of oil, gas, or energy products to the Cuban government, but it does allow sales to individuals and private companies. "We are ready to sell you oil and gas tomorrow. The law now applies to the private sector. Do you want to buy oil, gas, or products in the United States? Here we are," he stated.
As evidence that Washington is not trying to suffocate the population, Wright mentioned that the administration allowed the passage of the Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin, which arrived at the port of Matanzas on March 31 with about 730,000 barrels of crude oil, following an implicit authorization from Trump. That shipment, however, covered only between seven and 10 days of supply, given that Cuba needs between 90,000 and 110,000 barrels daily and produces only about 40,000.
Wright's statements are part of the most aggressive U.S. policy towards Cuba in decades. On January 29, Trump signed Executive Order 14380, which declared Cuba an unusual and extraordinary threat to national security and imposed tariffs of up to 50% on countries that supply oil to the Cuban government.
In February, the Departments of Treasury and Commerce authorized fuel exports to private Cuban entities, explicitly excluding the military conglomerate GAESA, which controls approximately 40% of Cuba’s gross domestic product. This strategy has been termed Cubastroika by analysts, aiming to strengthen the private sector and economically weaken the regime.
Cuba is experiencing its worst energy crisis in decades, with power outages exceeding 20 hours daily in several regions and an electrical system reliant on thermoelectric plants that are over 40 years old.
After the interview with the U.S. Secretary of Energy, the Díaz-Canel regime responded with an official statement titled "Girón is today and will always be," in which it claimed that Cuba will never be a trophy, nor a star on that country's flag, calling on citizens to be ready to fight in the event of military aggression.
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