The White House is considering a military operation in Cuba to overthrow the current government, but currently prefers diplomatic means. This was reported by Politico, citing its sources in the US administration.
As its sources note, Washington is trying to encourage Havana to implement economic reforms, including privatization of state-owned enterprises, an increased role for foreign investment and expanded access to the Internet for citizens. Another US demand is the purchase of American energy resources.
The United States, the media emphasizes, has made it clear to the Cuban side that “they can wait” with a complete change of government, but Washington would like certain officials on the island to resign.
US President Donald Trump said on March 5 that Washington intends to begin developing a further course of action regarding Cuba after the end of the military operation against Iran. Previously, he has repeatedly claimed that Cuba's government and economy are close to collapse after Venezuela cut off oil supplies to the island state under pressure from the United States. On February 27, Trump said that the United States could “establish friendly control over Cuba“.
On March 13, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel announced that Havana and Washington had held talks “aimed at finding solutions through dialogue to bilateral differences“. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is secretly discussing the island's future with Raul Castro's grandson, Raul Guillermo Rodríguez Castro.