Trump strangles Cuba with more sanctions: "It will not be able to survive"
The US president wants to take advantage of the Caribbean country's weak and isolated situation to bring it down.
BarcelonaHaving taken control of Venezuela, Donald Trump is now turning his attention to Cuba. The US president is aware of the island's weak and isolated situation. after the overthrow of Nicolás MaduroHe has signed an executive order imposing tariffs on countries that supply Cuba with oil. "Cuba will not be able to survive," he asserted during the presentation of a documentary about First Lady Melania Trump. The president considers the weak Cuban communist regime to be "an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States" and declared "a national emergency regarding that threat" during the signing of the executive order. However, he did not specify what types of tariffs will be applied nor did he name any specific country. Trump maintains that Cuba is a "failed nation," but when asked if his intention is to "strangle" the Caribbean country, he responded that the expression is "very harsh." "You have to feel bad for Cuba because they have treated the people very badly. We have many Cuban-Americans who have been very mistreated and would like to return," he stated.
"What is the objective? A genocide of the Cuban people," the Cuban government stated in a communiqué to the evening news, following Trump's announcement. "All spheres of life will be stifled by the United States government." Cuban state media warned that the order threatens to paralyze electricity generation, agricultural production, water supply, and health services on an island already suffering a crippling economic crisis.
The attack on Cuba is not new. Emboldened by the U.S. military's capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Trump claimed that the country's days are numbered and repeatedly suggested that he could act against the island or pressure its leaders at any moment. Just this week he said that "Cuba is going to go bankrupt very soon," and celebrated that Venezuela, which until now had been the main supplier of oil, has recently stopped sending oil and money to Cuba.
In fact, US pressure is so strong that, as Reuters reported last week, Mexico, Cuba's main supplier after Venezuela cut off supplies in December, is also reviewing whether to continue sending oil for fear of retaliation.
Fewer sanctions in Venezuela
The decision comes as the Trump administration has announced it will lift some sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry to make it easier for US companies to sell its crude. For now, the measure authorizes US companies to buy, sell, transport, store, and refine Venezuelan crude, but it does not lift US sanctions on production. However, Trump has stated that more restrictions in the country will soon be lifted.
The White House has touted its intention to control Venezuelan oil sales and revenues indefinitely since Maduro's kidnapping on January 3. And it has investments in mind: Trump wants US oil companies to invest $100 billion to restore production in the OPEC member country to its historical highs after years of underinvestment. Meanwhile, Washington and Caracas have already reached an initial agreement to sell 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude, with European trading companies Vitol and Trafigura handling the sale.