President Donald Trump on Friday told a rally for candidates in South Florida that US warships returning from the Middle East could stop over in Cuba on their way back from the Iran war, his latest suggestion of taking an interventionist approach to the nearby country.
In May, he and Rubio raised the specter of U.S. military intervention in Cuba, a renewed threat that took on greater weight after the administration announced criminal charges against the island’s former leader, Raul Castro. “Actually, what we’re going to do with Cuba is, we’re going to come back from Iran. Those beautiful ships will pass Cuba. They’ll raise up their hands. And then we’re going to send (Secretary of State) Marco Rubio in to finish up the deal.
We’ll have one of them stop about 50 yards off the coast.
“We’ll do a little stopover,” Trump said. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that previous U.S. presidents had considered intervening in Cuba for decades but that “it looks like I’ll be the one that does it.”
In May, the two renewed the possibility of US military intervention, with the threat gaining further significance after the Trump administration announced criminal charges against former Cuban leader Raúl Castro. Rubio voiced doubts that the U.S. could reach a diplomatic resolution with the island’s current government While saying the Trump administration wants to resolve differences with Cuba peacefully. “The truth is Cuba has already fallen. “We are hopeful that Cuba will choose a different path. “We’re never going to allow Cuba to become a base of operation against American interests or pose a threat to our national security. On that we are abundantly clear. Rubio and other top Trump aides have met with Cuban officials in recent months to explore possible improvements in relations. But the U.S. side has come away unimpressed from those talks, leading to even more sanctions imposed on the Cuban government. “Actually, what we’re going to do with Cuba is, we’re going to come back from Iran. Those beautiful ships will pass Cuba. They’ll raise up their hands. And then we’re going to send (Secretary of State) Marco Rubio in to finish up the deal.
Because of its ties to U.S. adversaries and that Trump is intent on addressing it, rubio told reporters separately that Cuba has been a national security threat for years. It doesn’t have a functional economy and it’s governed by people who continue to preach about some revolution that has been dead for 20 years that’s never worked,” Rubio said, without alluding to any CIA operation. We’ll have one of them stop about 50 yards off the coast.
We are hopeful … that there will be some people in there that open their eyes to the reality of what they’re facing,” he said. During his address to the United Nations General Assembly last month, Trump said Rubio – son of Cuban immigrants, who has long taken a hard line against Cuba’s socialist leadership – was “deep into negotiations with Cuba,” saying he would “not allow a haven for foreign adversaries to threaten America on our own doorstep. Earlier reporting noted: “We’ll do a little stopover,” Trump said.
Earlier reporting noted: US President Donald Trump has revived his threat of intervention in Cuba, suggesting that American warships returning from the war with Iran could stop near the island before secretary of state Marco Rubio steps in to negotiate a deal. Earlier reporting noted: Trump and Rubio have both adopted a hard line towards Cuba’s communist government.
