The president of the USA, donald trumpsaid again this Monday that his Administration is maintaining negotiations with the Cuban Governmentdespite the fact that the island’s authorities have assured that there is no bilateral dialogue underway.
In statements to the media at the White House, Trump assured that Washington is “close” to reaching an agreement with Havana which, among other things, would allow Cubans residing in the United States to visit their country again, something that, however, they already have the possibility of doing.
In particular, he stated that he would “like to help” those who “fled Cuba” and “would like to return.”
“Many (Cubans) would like to at least visit their families, and I think we are close to achieving that. The fact is that we are negotiating with the Cuban leaders at this moment,” Trump said before the press in the Oval Office.
The Republican, who had previously said that his Administration was in dialogue with Havana, highlighted the very difficult economic situation that Cuba is going through, aggravated by the lack of crude oil supply, as a result of his Government’s pressure on the island. the agency reported EFE.
Trump says “they are starting to talk to Cuba” as he intensifies economic pressure on the island
Cuba “bankrupt”
Trump recalled that last week he signed a executive order imposing tariffs on any country that ships oil to the island and described Cuba as “a bankrupt nation.”
“It is a failed nation, they do not receive money from Venezuela or anywhere else,” he stated, while He assured that Mexico will stop sending oil to Cuba.
These statements come after the Government of Claudia Sheinbaum said that it will maintain humanitarian aid shipments to Cuba while it seeks “through all diplomatic channels” how to resume fuel shipments to the island despite US pressure.
The American president had already pointed out over the weekend that The Cuban Government would be forced to seek an agreement with Washington due to the lack of oil.
The economic, energy and social crisis in Cuba has worsened in recent months, and in particular after the US attack on Venezuela. After that operation, in which 32 Cubans died and which culminated in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, Caracas has made concessions to Washington and Venezuelan supplies to the island were interrupted.
Havana says it does not dialogue with the US, although it recognizes “communication”
The Cuban government has denied that it is in talks with the United States, even though Trump insists that there are negotiations between authorities from both countries.
The Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Fernández de Cossío, declared this Monday to The Associated Press (AP) that Havana does not maintain a dialogue with Washington, although it expressed its willingness to start one under certain conditions.
“We are open to dialogue. If we can have a dialogue, perhaps that can lead to a negotiation,” said the Cuban vice foreign minister, who clarified that negotiating “is another issue.”
Cossío indicated that Cuba is willing to have an informal dialogue to achieve a “respectful coexistence” with the United States, despite the differences between both countries, although he said that certain issues would be “out of discussion,” such as the Constitution, the economy and the socialist system.
“But there are many, many other issues that we can discuss,” said Cossío, who in words to other media did acknowledge that Havana has maintained “communication” with the US authorities.
“We have exchanged messages, we have embassies, we have had communications, but we cannot say that we have had a dialogue table,” he explained to the agency. Reutersin statements cited by cnn.
The vice minister pointed out that Cuba is a peaceful country and that it wants to relate to the United States in the same way it does with the rest of the world, something that he described as the norm, while Washington continues to be “the exception,” he said, for his part, AP.
