US President Donald Trump last night promised immediate measures against Cuba's socialist government at a time when his measures against the island are plunging the Caribbean country into an even deeper economic crisis, the Associated Press reported.
A day after Trump's sanctions against Venezuela, including the cessation of vital oil exports to Cuba, contributed to another power outage across the country, Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US administration considers the island nation the next country where the United States can expand its influence.
“Cuba is in a very bad state right now“, Trump said. "And very soon we will do something about Cuba," he added.
Until recently, Trump's comments about changes in Cuba would have been considered unusual, the AP reports. But they come against the backdrop of his administration's military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and U.S. military strikes on Iran.
The Trump administration expects Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel to leave office as the United States continues to negotiate with the Cuban government, a U.S. official said. He did not elaborate on who the administration would like to see in power.
Electricity in Cuba was gradually being restored to hospitals and some homes last night, but authorities warned that the grid could suffer another outage.
The government has blamed the US energy blockade for its problems after Trump warned in January that he would impose tariffs on any country that sells or supplies oil to Cuba.
Rubio, who is of Cuban descent, said the island "has an economy that does not function within the framework of the political and governmental system." "They can't fix it," he added.
A Cuban official said Monday that Cuba is open to trade with American companies, but the Cuban side has made similar promises in the past.
"So they have to change drastically," Rubio said. "What they announced yesterday is not drastic enough. It's not going to fix things," he added.
The Trump administration also wants Cuba to release political prisoners and take steps toward political and economic liberalization in exchange for lifting sanctions. Trump also raised the possibility of a “friendly takeover of Cuba“.
Although Cuba produces 40% of its oil and generates its own electricity, this is not enough to meet domestic demand as its aging power grid continues to struggle.
Cuba's Ministry of Energy and Mines said the island had restored the electricity system in the western city of Pinar del Rio and the southeastern province of Holguin, and that some “microsystems“ were starting to operate in various parts of the country.