According to the congressman, “President Trump’s Administration is looking for other options to put even more pressure on the Cuban regime.”
MIAMI, United States. – Cuban-American Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart He stated in an interview this Thursday that “it is not acceptable” for the Cuban regime to “maintain” and maintained that Washington must take additional measures to “push” it toward its elimination, in particular by avoiding granting the Havana government some of the “largest forms of currency” it has.
“That is a very, very easy decision. What is not acceptable is that this regime remains. It has never been so weak, but we have to take measures to push it to be eliminated,” he said.
The live interview also included interventions by journalists and other participants who demanded cutting off remittances and flights to the Island as part of a strategy of greater pressure.
When asked about the next steps and how long a decision by the Administration could take, Díaz-Balart assured that he maintains contact “daily” with the Executive and that, although he says he is “satisfied” with several measures already adopted, he considers that there are still options to apply from different agencies.
“We are in daily contact with this Administration. And we are satisfied with many of the measures that have been taken, but we think that there are other things that can be taken. There are some things that the Treasury Department can do, there are other things that the Department of Justice can do,” he stated, without detailing what those actions would be.
According to the congressman, “President Trump’s Administration is looking for other options to put even more pressure on the regime,” and presented that pressure as a means so that “the Cuban people can finally recover their freedom, their sovereignty, and therefore also their prosperity.”
In the exchange, an interviewer asked him what would happen if there were massive protests in Cuba like those on July 11, 2021 and if the White House’s response would be similar to that of the former president. Joe Biden. Díaz-Balart responded no, and attacked the foreign policy of the former Democratic president.
He then maintained that there is currently “a United States military force around the Caribbean” that had “never” been seen and linked that presence to President Trump’s stance towards the Cuban regime. “Why? Because President Trump is not willing to accept a regime 90 miles away that is doing so much harm to its own people, but also to the national security of the United States,” he said.
Asked what makes this moment different from other periods and other administrations, Díaz-Balart summed it up in one sentence: “Two reasons. Donald Trump and Marco Rubio. Those are the differences.”
The conversation also shifted to Venezuela. When asked about the possibility that the pressure would not be achieved if a political change does not occur in Caracas, Díaz-Balart assured that the Trump Administration conceives the issue as “a transition process,” described Venezuelan power as “a narco cartel” and affirmed that its permanence “is not acceptable.”
“This is a transition process that involves three stages. We are in the first of those three stages,” he said, and described as a goal a “transition towards a democratic system” that “requires the release of all political prisoners, the legalization of the democratic process, the protection of the opposition, etc.”, in addition to “free elections.”
In that sense, he noted that he hopes it will happen “as soon as possible” and stated that he feels “very confident” about what, according to him, “this administration is doing.”
Díaz-Balart and his colleague, Congressman Carlos Giménez, participated this Thursday in a press conference in Miami to announce the request for a new package of measures against the Island’s regime.
The conference took place at the headquarters of the Cuban Democratic Directorate and was organized by the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance (ARC)headed by its coordinator Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat.
