Cuba’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Fernández de Cossío, stated in an interview with an American broadcaster, this Sunday (22), that the island’s armed forces are preparing for a possible military aggression by the United States.
“Our armed forces are always prepared and, in fact, these days they are preparing for the possibility of military aggression”, declared the politician in a interview to the program Meet the Pressyes NBC News. “The truth is that we always see this as something very distant. We don’t believe it is likely, but we would be naive if we didn’t prepare,” he added.
The vice minister highlighted that the regime sees “no justification” for military action to take place in Cuba, as the country is “peaceful” and poses “no threat” to the United States.
USA tightens the siege
Tensions between the US and Cuba intensified after the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro in January. At the time, President Donald Trump and the American Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, who is the son of Cuban immigrants, warned that Cuba could be the next target of military intervention. “If I lived in Havana and was part of the government, I would be worried,” Rubio said at the time.
Last week, Trump renewed the threats, saying it would be an “honor to take the Caribbean island and do with it whatever you want.” A report published by the newspaper The New York Timeson Monday (16), also stated that the Trump administration conditions negotiations between countries on the departure of dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel from power.
On this topic, the vice minister said that “the nature of the Cuban government, the structure of the Cuban government and the members of the Cuban government are not part of the negotiation.” “This is something that no sovereign country negotiates,” he commented.
In January, Trump signed an executive order to impose tariffs on countries that supply oil to Cuba, in an attempt to worsen the crisis on the island, which had already worsened by the cut in Venezuelan fuel shipments after Maduro’s overthrow. As a result, the island has experienced widespread blackouts – in March alone, there were three; the last of them, this Saturday (21), left more than 10 million people in the dark.
“What is happening today is that the US is threatening countries that might export fuel to Cuba with coercive measures, and that is the reason why Cuba has not received fuel for a long time,” said Fernández de Cossío. “It is very serious, and we are acting as proactively as possible to deal with the situation. We hope that the fuel reaches Cuba in one way or another, and that this boycott imposed by the United States does not last and cannot be sustained forever”, highlighted the Cuban in the interview.
The politician reiterated that Cuba “has no conflict” with the USA. “We have the need and the right to protect ourselves, but we are willing to sit down to talk. We are open to doing business and maintaining a respectful relationship that, I am sure, the majority of Americans would support”, he highlighted.
