Cuba is ready for any potential attack from US: envoy
Cuba is ready for the unlikely possibility of military engagement with the United States, Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio said in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to take over the Caribbean island nation.
Havana and Washington started talks earlier this month as Trump’s oil blockade pushed the communist-run country into an even deeper economic crisis.
Trump stepped up his rhetoric against Cuba on Monday, saying he expected to have the “honor” of taking Cuba.
“Our country as a whole has historically been prepared to mobilize for military aggression… We don’t believe it’s a possibility, but we would be naive if we didn’t prepare,” de Cossio told NBC on Sunday.
“We don’t understand why this should happen and we can’t find any justification.”
Reports suggested that the Trump administration was trying to remove Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel from power.
De Cossio also said any suggestion that the nature, structure or members of the Cuban government would be subject to negotiation in talks with the United States was inaccurate.
He added that regime change was “absolutely” off the table in talks with the United States.
The top general who oversees American forces in Latin America told lawmakers Thursday that the U.S. military is not rehearsing an invasion of Cuba or actively preparing to take over the island militarily.
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