Spanish
Washington.- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said this Wednesday that the Administration of President Donald Trump would "love" to see a "regime" change in Cuba, although he clarified that this does not mean that Washington will provoke it.
"We would like to, but that doesn't mean we are going to provoke a change, although we would love to see it. There is no doubt that it would be a great benefit for the United States if Cuba stopped being governed by an autocratic regime", assured Rubio during his hearing before the Senate scheduled to inform about the Administration's plans in Venezuela.
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When asked by lawmakers whether the U.S. plans to resort to military power or other coercive mechanisms to bring about a change of government on the island, Rubio replied that U.S. legislation establishes this. "The U.S. embargo against Cuba is codified. It was codified into law and requires regime change for us to lift the embargo," stated the Secretary of State, son of Cuban immigrants. Trump stated on Tuesday that Cuba "is about to fall" because, after the fall of the deposed Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, the island no longer receives Venezuelan crude. These statements were answered by the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which reiterated its "firm anti-imperialist and unwavering position". Havana and Washington are in a greater moment of verbal confrontation in decades, since last January 3rd a US military operation captured Maduro, who had maintained a strong political alliance and support with the sending of oil to the Caribbean island. Since then, Washington has reinforced pressure on Havana and maintains that the Cuban government's days are numbered, considering that the end of Venezuelan crude oil shipments to the island will exacerbate the economic crisis and provoke a "regime" change. Havana condemned the intervention in Caracas as an "act of terrorism", warned the U.S. that it will not tolerate intimidation or threats and stressed that there will be no possible understanding or negotiation under "coercion". However, it expressed its willingness to maintain a dialogue based on "equality and respect".
