Donald Trump sparked controversy with his remarks on March 16 when he said he would have “the honor” of “taking” Cuba and could do “whatever he wants” with it. In a press briefing, Trump said: “All my life I’ve been hearing about Cuba and the United States. When was the United States going to do it? I think I’ll have… the honor of taking Cuba.”
“Whether to liberate it, take it — I think I’ll be able to do whatever I want with it, to tell the truth —. They are a nation very weakened at this moment,” he said.
These statements have fueled the tension between Havana and Washington.
BBC reports that while Trump was making these remarks, the population in Cuba faced a total blackout, and just days after Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel admitted in an unusual public message that his government is negotiating with the U.S. to “seek solutions through dialogue to bilateral differences.”
In recent days, the United States has sought to deprive the island of fuel and energy, in what appears to be an attempt to force a change of course in a state that defines itself as communist and with which it has maintained problematic relations since its founding.
