president Donald Trump He said on Monday he expected to have the “honor” of “occupying Cuba” just days after Cuba’s communist government acknowledged discussions with the United States.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump declined to specify whether any potential U.S. intervention in Cuba would be similar to that in Venezuela or Iran, while confidently asserting that he could “do whatever I want” to the island.
“I think Cuba has seen the end,” President of the United States warn. “You know, I’ve been hearing about the United States and Cuba my whole life. When is the United States going to do this?
“I do believe I will have the honor of occupying Cuba…it is a great honor.”
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Trump says: ‘I can do whatever I want’
Calling Cuba a “very weak country right now,” he added, “I mean, whether I free it or take it, I think I can do whatever I want with it.”
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said on Friday his government was in discussions with the United States after Trump proposed a “friendly takeover” last week.
Díaz-Canel described the discussions as an effort to find solutions to bilateral problems existing between the two countries through dialogue.
Trump halts discounted Venezuelan oil supplies to Cuba
Trump halted the supply of discounted Venezuelan oil to the island following an attack on Caracas on January 3 that led to the overthrow of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
Additionally, the U.S. president warned of the possibility of imposing tariffs on any country that exports oil to Cuba. These actions resulted in fuel shortages on the island, leading to widespread power outages.
He went on a tirade against Cuba, calling it a “failed state” with “no money, no oil.” He mentioned that they just had a “nice piece of land.”
Trump praised the high “entrepreneurial spirit” of the Cuban people he met, who expressed a desire to reconnect with their homeland.
Cuba opposes external interference
However, Cuba has always opposed any external interference in its domestic affairs and believes that any suggestions in this regard will undermine any potential agreement.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, has long expressed a desire for regime change in Havana.
Following Maduro’s ouster in January and military action against Iran in collaboration with Israel, Trump publicly speculated that Cuba could be the “next” target.
Díaz-Canel, 65, who succeeded the late Fidel Castro and his brother Raul Castro as president in 2018, said on Friday he expected discussions with the United States to be conducted “on the basis of equality and respect for the two countries’ political systems, sovereignty and self-determination.”
