Trump signals tougher line on Cuba, says will take care after Iran addressed

Washington: US President Donald Trump has described Cuba as a “failed nation”, suggesting that its Communist government was under growing pressure, and his administration plans to focus more attention on the island after addressing ongoing challenges involving Iran.

Trump argued that Cuba’s economic difficulties have worsened because of changes in Venezuela, which he said had long provided financial and energy support to Havana.

“It’s a failed nation,” Trump said. “Without Venezuela, you know, Venezuela because it has such wealth in the ground, mostly in the ground, but Venezuela took care of them for years.”

The President said Cuba is struggling economically and lacks the resources needed to sustain itself.

“The country is starving, and it’s got no energy, it’s got no oil, it’s got no money, it’s got nothing,” Trump said. “It’s got a beautiful piece of land.”

Asked whether recent sanctions were intended to accelerate the collapse of the Cuban government, Trump said the objective was different.

“No, it’s just — we just want them to be a nicely run country that can feed its people,” he said.

Trump argued that Cuba had long benefited from Venezuelan support but said that situation has changed.

“Venezuela was giving them the money to survive,” he said. “Now, you know, the money is, I guess you could say, it’s coming to us and it’s going to Venezuela.”

When asked whether Cuba was close to collapse, Trump suggested the island’s economic and political system was already under severe strain.

“It sort of collapsed,” he said. “And we’re going to handle that as soon as we finish.”

Referring to ongoing diplomacy and tensions involving Iran, Trump added: “I like to do one thing at a time, and we’ll take care of the Islamic Republic of Iran. And as soon as that’s done on our way back, we’ll just make a little brief stop.”

The President also outlined what he described as a future vision for US-Cuba relations, saying Washington wants to help create conditions that would allow Cuban-Americans to reconnect with relatives and invest in the island.

“We’re going to treat Cuba well,” Trump said. “And we’re going to let our people go back and let them invest in Cuba if they’d like.”

“We have some very good plans for Cuba,” he added.

Trump also highlighted his strong political support among Cuban-Americans, particularly in Florida.

“I had 95 per cent of the Cubans vote for me,” he said. “They’re unbelievable people. They’re energetic, they’re entrepreneurial.”

The comments offered one of Trump’s clearest indications in recent months that Cuba could become a higher foreign-policy priority after current efforts involving Iran and broader Middle East security issues

Economic conditions in Cuba have deteriorated in recent years amid fuel shortages, power outages, inflation and declining state revenues. The island has also experienced one of its largest waves of emigration in modern history as many Cubans have sought opportunities abroad.

IANS