After a military takeover of Venezuela and an ongoing war with Iran, US President Donald Trump is now eyeing another power grab, this time closer to home.
During a press briefing on Monday, Trump made his plans public: a possible takeover of the communist island of Cuba, which plunged into darkness following a total blackout after a US-led oil blockade.
“I do believe I’ll be having the honor of taking Cuba. I think that’s a big honour. Taking Cuba in some form,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“Whether I free it, take it — think I could do anything I want with it, you want to know the truth. They’re a very weakened nation right now,” he added.
The remark comes as Cuba plunged into darkness after the country’s electric grid suffered a total collapse on Monday after weeks of crippling oil embargo imposed by the US.
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The Caribbean island of 9.6 million people have been subject to rolling outages as the Communist government struggled with shortage of fuel needed to generate power. Cuba President Miguel Díaz-Canel last week said the country hasn’t received a major fuel shipment in three months due to an embargo from Washington.
Trump admin’s economic pressure over Cuba
The Trump administration has been trying to use economic pressure over the country to make it more financially dependent on the US in a bid to bring about political change after 67 years of one-party rule.
“You know, all my life I’ve been hearing about the United States and Cuba. When will the United States do it?” Trump said at the briefing.
A report in The New York Times citing sources said the Trump administration is seeking to push the Cuban President from power.
The crisis began ever since the US ouster of Cuba’s top ally, Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, on January 3 this year, following which the island’s economy has been hit hard due to the oil blockade.
Meanwhile, Trump has alleged that the fuel blockade is in response to an “extraordinary threat” posed by Cuba to the US. Trump earlier said that Cuba “wants to make a “deal”, which could come quickly after his administration has finished the war against Iran.
“I think we will pretty soon either make a deal or do whatever we have to do,” Trump told reporters.
