US President Donald Trump claims that Cuba can turn to the US for help.
„I think they will have to turn to us. "They want help, they need help," he said in an interview with Fox News.
Earlier, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said that the country would be grateful to the US government if it were truly prepared to provide support in full compliance with recognized humanitarian aid practices.
Diaz-Canel identified fuel, food and medicine as priorities for such aid.
He also noted that the damage could be more easily and quickly mitigated by lifting or easing the trade, economic and energy embargo.
In his recent statements on the subject, he described Cuba as a "failed country" that is only moving "downward". Trump has expressed his willingness to talk to Havana, but only on condition that a concrete agreement is reached that is beneficial to the United States.
The Trump administration has imposed strict restrictions and threatened with deadly tariffs countries that try to sell oil to Cuba. As a result, the island has fallen into a complete lack of diesel and fuel oil. In early May, after the sanctions were tightened, Trump hinted at potential military intervention during a speech in Florida.
The US president had previously mentioned the possibility of a “friendly takeover“ or takeover of the sovereign state, provoked by incidents off the Cuban coast. Amid these comments and the extreme escalation of tensions, CIA Director John Ratcliffe made a rare and unexpected visit to Cuba. The visit coincided with the moment when the country was plunged into darkness and mass protests due to the total collapse of its electricity grid.