The recent US sanctions against Cuban leaders and the indictment of former President Raúl Castro are a “pretext” for President Donald Trump’s administration to convince the American people to support a military intervention, the top Cuban diplomat in Washington told The Associated Press.
In an interview on Tuesday, June 9th, Ambassador Lianys Torres Rivera reiterated accusations against the Trump administration, echoing statements made by other Cuban officials, including the foreign minister and the president, and bitterly complained that the United States is targeting Cuban civilians with its decades-long embargo and a new blockade on fuel shipments to the island.
“We see the sanctions against our leaders as a pretext to make the American people think we are a threat,” she said at the Cuban embassy in Washington. “We are not a threat to the United States, and we do not want confrontation.”
Torres Rivera, who holds the formal title of chargé d’affaires, described the situation as “a war without bombs.” She said that attempts to change the Cuban government through coercion or force will face fierce resistance.
“Raúl is sacred,” she said regarding the indictment filed last month by a federal grand jury against Castro. The 95-year-old former president faces charges of conspiracy and murder related to the 1996 downing of two unarmed civilian aircraft operated by Brothers to the Rescue, a Miami-based exile group, while he was Cuba’s defense minister.
“Raúl is a sacred symbol of the Revolution, and we will defend Raúl — just as we will defend the country — to the very end,” Torres Rivera said. “If we are attacked, we will respond, and we are prepared for that. But we don’t want it.”
His comments reflect a belief among many Cubans and Cuba analysts that the charges against Castro, and the sanctions imposed on other leaders of the socialist government, are similar to those the Trump administration cited as the reason for its military intervention in Venezuela in January, which ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro.
On Thursday, the same day the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Castro’s son and grandson, and others, Trump said of Cuba: “We’re going to take care of that as soon as we’re done” with military operations in Iran.
Trump has been threatening military action in Cuba since he ousted Maduro and then ordered an energy blockade that strangled fuel shipments to the island. This has led to severe blackouts, food shortages, and an economic collapse across the country.
Torres Rivera said the Trump administration’s measures to tighten the screws on Cuba’s already struggling economy have resulted in untold misery for ordinary Cubans, who are fighting to survive with power outages of up to 20 hours a day and exorbitant costs for gasoline, kerosene, and other everyday goods, including food and medicine.
“What’s happening now is hard,” he lamented. “It’s heartbreaking.”
Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and other administration officials have repeatedly denied that Cuba’s economic woes are the fault of the United States, instead blaming the Cuban government’s socialist policies. They have not ruled out military action against the island but have said they are willing to give Cuban authorities time to implement reforms.
Torres Rivera indicated that recent discussions between senior U.S. and Cuban officials in Havana and elsewhere have been “professional and respectful.” But she noted that Cuba is unwilling to change unless reforms are made from within and not under coercion.
A former Cuban ambassador to Vietnam, another socialist country with which Cuba has long-standing ties, the official pointed out that Washington and Hanoi have forged a positive relationship over the past four decades, but only because the Vietnamese implemented reforms at their own pace. Havana should be allowed the same, she said.
“We want to make sure that the only changes to the system are made by us.”
However, Rubio has said that Cuba poses a serious threat to U.S. national security because of its security and intelligence ties with China and Russia, and its friendly relations with Washington’s adversaries in Latin America.
“I really don’t think this system is capable of reforming itself, unless new people take over or a new mindset is imposed,” Rubio told lawmakers at a congressional hearing last week.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Cuban ambassador’s remarks.
[ SOURCE: CUBA DEBATE / ASSOCIATED PRESS ]
