The President of the United States, Donald Trump, said this Monday (16), during a press conference at the White House, that he believes he will have the honor of “taking Cuba”. In the same statement, the Republican once again criticized the Cuban communist regime and said that the country is weakened after years of economic crisis.
Trump said he has been following discussions about the relationship between Washington and Havana for decades and suggested that his government could play a decisive role in the island’s future.
“I believe that I will have the honor of taking Cuba. It is a great honor. To take Cuba in some way. To liberate it. I think I can do whatever I want with it, to tell you the truth,” he declared.
The president also described Cuba as a fragile country and criticized the regime’s political leadership. “It’s a very weakened nation. It’s been like this for a long time, and it has very violent leaders,” he said.
Trump added that the island has tourist and economic potential, but said the country has been in a difficult situation for years. According to him, the current fragility could open space for changes in the relationship with the United States.
In recent weeks, the American president has stated that the Cuban regime may soon face a fall, citing economic deterioration and increasing internal difficulties. Washington considers that the crisis on the island worsened after restrictions in the supply of oil and structural problems in the energy system.
Cuba began this week with a new national blackout, the sixth in about a year and a half, according to data released by authorities and experts in the energy sector. The outages have been associated with failures in old thermoelectric plants and fuel shortages, a situation that has worsened in recent months.
Cuban dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel recently confirmed that Havana representatives are holding talks with the United States to try to resolve differences through dialogue. Trump had also mentioned the possibility of negotiations, although he continued to criticize the Cuban regime harshly.
