The Trump administration has begun considering a military invasion of Cuba after attempts to bring about change on the island through harsh economic sanctions and a fuel blockade failed, Politico reported, citing sources.
„The initial forecast for Cuba was that a combination of tougher sanctions - essentially an oil blockade - and apparent US military successes in Venezuela and Iran would scare the Cubans into making a deal. "Now the situation with Iran has gone awry and the Cubans have proven to be much more resilient than initially thought," the newspaper quoted a source familiar with the discussions of the Trump administration.
Therefore, as the newspaper writes, the question of military action is now "on the agenda like never before."
The American command is studying various scenarios that go far beyond targeted operations to capture specific individuals. The range of possible actions by the Pentagon ranges from a single air strike aimed at forcing the Cuban government to make concessions to a full-scale ground intervention aimed at complete regime change on the island, the publication indicates.
According to the newspaper, the US Southern Command has begun an operational planning cycle in recent weeks, effectively starting to prepare scenarios for a possible invasion of Cuba.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Havana on Thursday at the head of a US delegation and met with representatives of the Cuban Ministry of the Interior, the government of the Caribbean republic announced.
On Saturday, the New York Times, citing US administration officials, reported that senior US officials were considering the possibility of capturing former Cuban leader Raul Castro, similar to the Venezuelan scenario.
On January 29, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing tariffs on imports from countries supplying oil to Cuba. He also declared a state of emergency due to an alleged threat to national security from Havana.
The island's government said the United States was seeking to stifle the country's economy and make living conditions unbearable through the energy blockade.
The Washington administration added several Cuban officials to the sanctions lists, including two ministers, the speaker of parliament and the republic's intelligence agency.
According to a statement from the US Treasury Department, the restrictions will apply to Cuban Minister of Communications Mayra Arevíz Marín; Minister of Energy and Mines Vicente de la O'Levi; Speaker of the Cuban Parliament Esteban Lasso; Politburo member and personnel secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba Roberto Morales Ojeda. In addition, the Intelligence Directorate of the Cuban Ministry of the Interior has been added to the sanctions list.