The head of the U.S. Southern Command denies being in preparations for the taking of Cuba

Washington.- The head of the United States Southern Command, Francis Donovan, assured this Thursday before Congress that the US Army is not preparing for a takeover of Cuba.

Donovan denied that possibility after a senator asked him if any military exercises are currently being carried out with the aim of taking control of the island. He also said he had no knowledge of any plan by the Donald Trump Administration to support Cuban opposition groups in exile in order to overthrow the Havana government. The general specified that Washington would deploy troops in the event of a "threat to the security" of the US Embassy or the Guantanamo base, with the aim of "defending Americans".

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Negotiations Amidst the Crisis

Donovan's statements come at a time of tension between the United States and Cuba, which are holding discreet negotiations following the energy blockade imposed by Donald Trump on the island, a measure that has worsened the country's economic crisis. On Monday, Trump stated that he believes he will have the "honor" of taking control of Cuba, an island with which, he said, he can do "whatever he wants." The president had also recently assured that he would carry out a "friendly takeover" of the country, statements rejected by Havana. The New York Times newspaper reported that the Trump administration had asked its interlocutors in Cuba for the resignation of President Miguel Díaz-Canel, without demanding a change in the communist regime or the departure of the Castro family from power, information that was denied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Also The Southern Command oversees U.S. military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean from its headquarters near Miami (Florida).