Want to Help Cuba on Humanitarian Basis, Says Trump

washington: US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the US wants to help Cuba on humanitarian grounds amid the country’s ongoing economic and energy crisis. Speaking to reporters, Trump dismissed speculation that the deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz near the region was intended to scare the Cuban government. “No, not at all. Look at Cuba, it’s a failed country. Everybody knows that. They don’t have electricity, they don’t have money, they don’t really have anything. They don’t have food. And we’re going to help them and we’re going to help them because the people because number one I want to help them on a humanitarian basis,” he said. He also touched on the Cuban-American community in Florida, saying many want to help rebuild Cuba.

“But we have a Cuban-American population, most of whom live in Miami and Florida. They’re a great group of people, great people, hard workers, they’re just great Americans. They wanted this to happen. They want to go back to their country. They want to help their country. Hopefully they’ll stay here, but they want to go back; they want to invest in their country and, you know, see if they can bring it back,” he said. Trump added that previous US presidents had considered taking similar steps for decades. “Other presidents have been looking at this for 50, 60 years of doing something, and it looks like I’m going to be the one to do it. So we’d be happy to do that. We want to open this up to Cuban Americans where they can come back and help,” he added. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that Washington maintains relations with Cuba through diplomatic channels, but that the country’s political and economic systems are collapsing.

“Here’s the problem: We’re going to contact the Cubans. Our ambassadors met with them recently. The CIA director was there a couple of weeks ago. The State Department has some communications. I just don’t see much of it… At the end of the day, they have to make a decision,” Rubio said. He described Cuba as a “failed state” and argued that its current economic model could not succeed. “Their system isn’t working, right? Their economic system isn’t working. It’s broken. And you can’t fix it with the current political system. They just don’t understand how to do it. And it’s a failed state. Just like their economy and the model they’re trying to follow in Cuba, it’s unlike anything anyone else has done anywhere in the world. So there are other ways to do this that can bring prosperity and opportunity to the Cuban people, and that’s what I said in the video. To them the other day,” he said. Rubio added that the reforms proposed by the Cuban leadership were merely “cosmetic” and insisted that the Cuban people should enjoy the same freedoms enjoyed in neighboring countries.

“You look at Cuba, the Bahamas, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, here in Florida. Cuba is surrounded by places where people have the right to own businesses, work for themselves, vote and vote for leaders who govern or replace them. So if that’s possible all over Cuba, why wouldn’t it be possible inside Cuba? And right now there don’t seem to be people there who are in charge of the regime and who are open to any of that in any way. And the things they talk about economically are cosmetic in nature, they’re not real.” he said. Rubio said diplomacy is always on the table. “Because what they’ve been used to for all these years is just buying time and waiting for us. They’re not going to be able to wait for us or buy time. We’re very serious, we’re very focused as I just told you in the context of Iran. The president’s preference is always a peaceful, negotiated agreement. That’s always our preference. That remains our preference. I’m being honest with you on Cuba, given who we’re dealing with, the likelihood of that happening is not high right now, but if they change their mind, you know, we’re here and we’re here to do it in the meantime.” “We will continue to do what is necessary,” he said.

The US Secretary of State also warned that instability in Cuba could directly affect the US due to the island’s proximity to the US mainland. “This is not nation-building. We’re dealing with an issue that is directly related to the national security of the United States. We’re involved in events all over the world. You ask me about Ebola; it’s important, but Ebola is in Africa. Cuba is 90 miles from our shores. So if there’s a systemic meltdown in that country, which is where they’re heading; by the way, their power plants, the reason their power plants are failing, they’ve been having blackouts for years. They had massive blackouts last year and they were still getting free Venezuelan oil.” “They haven’t spent a dime on stabilizing their energy production on the power grids. They don’t spend any money on these things,” he said. He accused GAESA, Cuba’s military-linked business conglomerate, of controlling billions of dollars in assets without benefiting ordinary citizens.

“They have a private military company called GAESA, which is sitting on $18 billion in assets. And not a penny of that goes into the state budget. Not a penny of that goes to helping the Cuban people. Not a penny. So even if they had all the diesel in the world, they still wouldn’t be able to produce energy because they’re stealing the money and not investing in their energy infrastructure. So you’re heading towards a failed state. That’s what you have now, but it’s 90 miles from our shores. So we’re going to be affected by any violence and instability that happens there. That’s directly.” “It affects the national interests of the United States, so the future of Cuba belongs to the Cuban people in terms of how they’re governed, what the system looks like, etc. But the national security threat is something we’re going to focus on 100 percent because it’s about America.” Rubio reiterated the Trump administration’s preference for diplomacy, but said the US President has the authority to take action if American national security is threatened. “Our preference in Cuba and anywhere else in the world is for a diplomatic solution through negotiation. OK? And I can tell you this. The President always has the option to do whatever is necessary to promote and protect the national interests, the national security of the United States. If there is a threat to the national security of the United States, he has the option to do that. And he has shown a willingness to do that when he detects such a threat. However, our preference is always a diplomatic solution. Always. And or you know, an agreement through negotiation is always our preference. But to answer your question.” “If necessary, if there is a threat to the national security of the United States, the President not only has the right but also the obligation to address that national security threat,” he said. The timing of this executive message coincides with the American government’s decision to formally charge former Cuban President Raul Castro for the historic 1996 military attack that targeted two civilian airliners flown by four exiled Cuban citizens. Castro, who served as Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces at the time, faces federal charges in connection with the destruction of the plane as well as four murders stemming from an alleged conspiracy targeting U.S. citizens.