Cuba denies security threat accusations as US raises pressure

The Cuban authorities has rejected accusations that it poses a menace to the information of the United States, insisting that it stands acceptable to cooperate with Washington.

The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a connection connected Monday calling for dialog and stressing that the Caribbean land does not enactment “terrorism”. The declaration comes amid a spike successful hostility aft the abduction of Venezuelan person Nicolas Maduro past month, which was portion of President Donald Trump’s drive for US domination of the Western Hemisphere.

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“The Cuban radical and the American radical payment from constructive engagement, lawful cooperation, and peaceful coexistence,” the connection from Havana said.

“Cuba reaffirms its willingness to support a respectful and reciprocal dialogue, oriented toward tangible results, with the United States government, based connected communal involvement and planetary law.”

The connection came hours aft Trump said diplomatic interaction with Cuba had been revived, noting that his medication is talking to the “highest people” successful the Cuban government.

“Cuba is simply a failing federation for a agelong time. But present it doesn’t person Venezuela to prop it up,” Trump told reporters precocious connected Sunday.

Venezuela was Cuba’s apical vigor supplier, but since US forces toppled Maduro, the travel of lipid to the land has each but travel to a halt.

The US has besides been intercepting and seizing Venezuelan lipid tankers successful the Caribbean – a determination that critics accidental amounts to piracy.

Beyond lipid supplies, Cuba had adjacent economical and information relations with Maduro’s government. Nearly 50 Cuban soldiers were killed during the abduction of the Venezuelan leader.

The Trump medication has besides been pressuring Mexico to halt supplying Cuba with oil. A full vigor siege could pb to a superior humanitarian situation successful the country.

‘Malign actors’

Washington has had hostile relations with Havana since the emergence of the precocious President Fidel Castro aft the communist gyration that overthrew US-backed authoritarian person Fulgencio Batista successful 1959.

In 2021, during his archetypal term, Trump listed Cuba arsenic a “state sponsor of terrorism”.

Last week, the White House released a memorandum labelling the Cuban authorities an “unusual and bonzer threat” to the US.

The papers accused Havana of aligning with “malign actors”, including China and Russia. That is contempt the US itself seeking improved relations with Moscow and Beijing. A precocious released US National Defence Strategy downplayed the brace arsenic a information threat.

“The Cuban authorities continues to dispersed its communist ideas, policies, and practices astir the Western Hemisphere, threatening the overseas argumentation of the United States,” the White House memo said.

On Monday, the Cuban authorities denied these accusations, stressing that it does not big overseas subject oregon quality bases.

“Cuba categorically declares that it does not harbor, support, finance, oregon licence violent oregon extremist organizations,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said successful a statement.

“Our state maintains a zero-tolerance argumentation toward the financing of coercion and wealth laundering, and is committed to the prevention, detection, and combating of illicit fiscal activities, successful accordance with planetary standards.”

The connection represents a softening of tones from a authorities in the Americas that has agelong represented defiance towards the US.

While the US has openly pushed to power Venezuela’s vast lipid industry, Trump has suggested that his apical request from Cuba relates to the attraction of Cuban Americans – a ample constituency for his Republican Party successful the authorities of Florida.

“A batch of radical that unrecorded successful our state are treated precise severely by Cuba,” Trump told reporters connected Sunday.

“They each voted for me, and we privation them to beryllium treated well. We’d similar to beryllium capable to person them spell backmost to a location successful their country, which they haven’t seen their family, their state for many, galore decades.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is of Cuban descent and a erstwhile Florida senator, has been pushing a hardline approach to Latin America.

On Sunday, Pope Leo said helium was troubled by the escalating tensions betwixt the US and Cuba.

“I echo the connection of the Cuban bishops, inviting each liable parties to beforehand a sincere and effectual dialogue, successful bid to debar unit and each enactment that could summation the suffering of the beloved Cuban people,” the pope said successful a societal media post.