A US delegation visited Cuba last week as Trump put pressure on the island, the official said
A delegation of representatives of the Department of State traveled to Cuba on a US government plane last week, said a department official and two American officials told CBS News, the opening of the communications office. the island nation is struggling in the months of great pressure from the Trump administration.
While in Cuba, one of the US diplomats met with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, the grandson of former President Raúl Castro, who is widely seen as an important powerhouse in the Cuban government, a State Department official said.
It is unclear who else is participating in the talks on the US or Cuban side.
Axios was the first to report on this trip, which is the first time that a US government plane has landed in Cuba since former President Barack Obama. he went to the island in 2016.
During the meetings, the American delegation discussed The Trump administration about political and economic reforms, and US demands to release political prisoners, said a State Department official. The Americans also floated giving Cuba access to Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
“The team also said that Cuba’s economy is in free fall and that the island’s administration has a small window to make important U.S.-backed reforms before the situation deteriorates beyond repair,” the official told CBS News.
The official added that President Trump is open to resolving US concerns through dialogue, but “will not allow the island to become a major national security threat if Cuban leaders are unwilling or unable to act.”
The country of Cuba is facing an electricity problem that has been going on for many months following the threat of Mr impose heavy taxes from any country that exports oil to Cuba. Oil shipments to the island have effectively stopped, although the US allowed a Russian-owned tanker to dock in Havana last month with that administration. defined as humanitarian relief.
Meanwhile, Mr. Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of intervening in Cuba. Last month, he called Cuba a “failing country” and suggested it “could be next,” following the US ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the war with Iran.
Earlier this week, the president told reporters, without elaborating, that “we may go through Cuba after we’re done with this.” And on Friday, he said he wanted to “bring about the day that has been waiting for 70 years – it’s called a new dawn for Cuba,” possibly referring to the revolution that brought Fidel Castro and the country’s communist movement 67 years ago.
Cuba and the US have agreed that talks are ongoing, but it is unclear how close the two sides are to a decision. Cuba said earlier this year that it would succeed release certain restrictions about foreign investment, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it was not enough.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel dismissed Mr.
“We don’t want it, but it’s our job to prepare to avoid it and, if it’s unavoidable, to overcome it,” said Díaz-Canel.
