Is the Castroite communist leader of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel may be looking to fly off to Russia and escape Cuba before it falls. Cuba is days away from running out of oil after the Trump blockade cut off their supply from Venezuela. Something appears ready to happen as Trump has declared a national emergency.
Now, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel finds himself under mounting pressure from President Donald Trump, who has sharply intensified U.S. policy toward Havana in recent weeks.
On Thursday, Trump declared a national emergency related to Cuba, asserting that the Cuban government poses an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. The administration also said it would impose penalties on any country that sells or supplies oil to Cuba without U.S. authorization.
Trump confirmed Sunday that the U.S. is engaged in direct talks with Cuban officials.
“Cuba is a failing nation. It has been for a long time, but now it doesn’t have Venezuela to prop it up,” Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago, Florida. “So we’re talking to the people from Cuba, the highest people in Cuba, to see what happens. I think we’re going to make a deal with Cuba.”
Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have both indicated support for political change in Havana, though the administration has not said whether it would pursue that objective through military action.