Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended on Thursday the priority that the Trump administration gives to Cuba over other global crises with a phrase that encapsulated the core of his argument: "Ebola is in Africa. Cuba is 90 miles from our shores," he stated during a press conference in response to criticisms regarding this approach.
Rubio stated that a potential systemic collapse on the island—an outcome that, according to him, the regime is accelerating—would have direct consequences for the United States in the form of mass migration, violence, and regional instability. "If they have a systemic collapse in that country, which is the direction they are heading, we will be affected," he warned.
The head of U.S. diplomacy described Cuba as a "failed state". "Its economic system is not functioning, it is broken, and it cannot be fixed with the current political system," he stated, while asserting that the regime "simply does not understand how to do it."
In his statements, he also referred to the military-business conglomerate GAESA, which he accused of concentrating vast wealth while the country faces an unprecedented humanitarian and energy crisis.
"They have a private military company called GAESA that holds $18 billion in assets, and not a cent of that goes to the state budget. Not a cent of that will help the people of Cuba," he denounced.
Rubio directly linked that accumulation of resources to the deterioration of the national electric system. He recalled that for years Cuba received free Venezuelan oil, but asserted that the regime never used those resources to modernize or repair the country's energy infrastructure.
"Even if they had all the diesel in the world, they couldn't generate enough energy because they have stolen the money," he said.
The Secretary of State also rejected the accusations that Washington's policy towards Cuba is part of a "nation building" strategy. "This is not nation building. We are addressing something that is directly related to the national security of the United States," he insisted.
Rubio also confirmed that the visit of CIA Director John Ratcliffe and the contacts that the U.S. ambassador has held with Cuban officials have not produced any real signs of political openness. He even acknowledged that the chances of reaching a negotiated agreement with the current regime "are not high," although he noted that this remains President Donald Trump's preferred option.
Regarding the criminal charges filed on Wednesday in Miami against Raúl Castro for the downing of the Hermanos al Rescate planes in 1996, Rubio stated that the former Cuban leader "openly admits and boasts of having ordered the shooting down of civilian planes." However, he avoided providing details about a potential operation to bring him to justice in the United States. "If there is an announcement, I will let you know afterwards, not before", he replied.
The statements come just a day after a coordinated political and symbolic offensive by Washington against the Cuban regime: Rubio's video message directed to the people of Cuba offering 100 million dollars in humanitarian aid, the formalization of charges against Raúl Castro, and the deployment of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier in the Caribbean.
Trump downplayed the U.S. military presence in the region and stated that the mission of the USS Nimitz is not intended to intimidate the island. "Not at all. We are going to help them," he declared this Thursday.
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