The President of the United States, Donald Trump, declared this Tuesday that he believes it is possible to reach an understanding with the Cuban regime through diplomatic means.
In response to journalist Shelby Talcott's question about whether he believes a "diplomatic agreement with Cuba" is possible, Trump stated that he does. The statements were shared by the @ClashReport account with the official branding of the White House.
"I think so. Yes, I believe so. And we are, I am very proud of Cuban-Americans. They have been incredible people. Many of them have lost family members, they have suffered tremendously themselves, they have been in prison," he commented.
El video fue grabado en un sitio de construcción al aire libre, en las obras de la sala de baile de la Casa Blanca, tarea que el presidente está controlando personalmente.
The statement comes a day after the magazine Politico revealed that the Trump administration is considering military options against Cuba, ranging from targeted airstrikes to a ground invasion, following the failure of the economic pressure campaign to force reforms within the regime.
The contrast between the two signals reflects the dual strategy that has characterized the administration: maximum pressure combined with a conditioned willingness to negotiate, contingent upon changes from Havana.
The Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed skepticism about that possibility. "We'll give them a chance. But I don't think it's going to happen. I don't believe we can change the course of Cuba while these people are in charge," he stated to Fox News last week.
A source familiar with the administration's internal discussions explained to Politico the shift in approach: "The mood has definitely changed. The initial idea was that a combination of increased sanctions and an oil blockade would intimidate the Cubans into reaching an agreement. Now military action is on the table in a way that it wasn't before."
Unprecedented diplomatic sequence
On May 14, the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, visited Havana — the highest-level direct contact between both countries on Cuban soil since 2016 — and met with the Cuban Minister of the Interior and Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, the grandson of Raúl Castro. Ratcliffe conveyed that Cuba "can no longer serve as a platform for adversaries to advance hostile agendas in our hemisphere."
On May 12, Trump wrote on Truth Social: "Cuba is asking for help, and we're going to talk!" while Chancellor Bruno Rodríguez admitted that they have begun "a process of exchanges" with Washington.
This dynamic is compounded by the fact that on May 16, Axios reported that Cuba acquired over 300 military drones from Russia and Iran since 2023, and that Cuban officials have discussed potential uses for these weapons against the Guantanamo Naval Base and U.S. military vessels.
The Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel warned yesterday on X that a U.S. military aggression "would lead to a bloodbath with incalculable consequences."
The Department of Justice is also preparing a criminal charge against Raúl Castro, 94 years old, for the downing of planes from Brothers to the Rescue in 1996, which adds further pressure on the regime.
A White House official clarified that military planning "does not mean the president has made a decision," but the pattern is consistent with the strategy that Trump previously applied in Venezuela: a credible threat combined with a negotiation offer to force concessions.
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