President Donald Trump stated yesterday from the Oval Office that the Cuban people want the presence of the United States on the island and promised to address issues regarding Cuba once the crisis with Iran is resolved, according to statements reported by the press.
"The people there want us to be present. They want it very much," Trump said to reporters in response to questions about the situation in Cuba.
The leader described his plan with a straightforward metaphor: "We will deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran, and as soon as that is over, we will make a quick pit stop on our way back. We will take care of it."
When asked if the Cuban regime was close to collapsing, Trump was emphatic: "It has more or less collapsed."
The president was also clear about the fate of the regime: "We have very good plans for Cuba. I believe you know that we need to get rid of the regime. It was a very selfish, very cruel regime."
In response to the question of whether his sanctions aim to accelerate that collapse, Trump denied it: "No. All we want is for it to be a well-managed country that can feed its people." He described Cuba as a "failed nation."
Trump attributed the current weakness of the regime to the cut in Venezuelan flow: “For years they received a lot of money from Venezuela. They received oil, they received money,” he stated, describing the relationship between the two dictatorships as that of “bodyguards.”
The leader also dedicated part of his remarks to the Cuban-American community, stating that 95% of Cubans voted for him and describing them as "incredible, energetic, entrepreneurial people." "Some of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in Miami are Cuban. They are extraordinary. And I will take very good care of them," he added.
Trump also promised to allow Cuban Americans to return to the island and invest in it: "I will allow them to go back to their land. They want to be with their families again. They have been treated very poorly by Cuba. But we are going to treat Cuba well."
The statements come at a time of maximum pressure from Washington on Havana. On the same Thursday, the United States sanctioned the Ministry of the Armed Forces of Cuba (MINFAR), the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), and the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), among other regime entities.
This Friday also marked the deadline set by Washington for foreign companies to sever their ties with GAESA, the military conglomerate that controls the Cuban economy, under the threat of secondary sanctions.
On May 28, Axios revealed that the administration is preparing for a possible collapse of the Cuban regime this summer and that Southern Command conducted multi-agency simulation exercises in response to potential unrest on the island. Administration officials then stated that "everything is on the table" regarding Cuba, although they ruled out an imminent invasion.
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