{"id":749,"date":"2026-05-22T16:36:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T16:36:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=749"},"modified":"2026-05-22T16:36:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T16:36:14","slug":"rubio-doubtful-of-diplomacy-with-cuba-as-trump-raises-new-threat-of-military-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=749","title":{"rendered":"Rubio doubtful of diplomacy with Cuba as Trump raises new threat of military action"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump and America\u2019s top diplomat on Thursday again raised the specter of U.S. military intervention in Cuba, a renewed threat that takes on greater weight a day after the administration\u00a0announced criminal charges\u00a0against the island\u2019s former leader, Ra\u00fal Castro.<\/p>\n

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Trump said previous U.S. presidents have\u00a0considered intervening in Cuba\u00a0for decades but that \u201cit looks like I\u2019ll be the one that does it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOther presidents have looked at this for 50, 60 years, doing something,\u201d Trump told reporters when asked about Cuba during an environmental event in the Oval Office. \u201cAnd, it looks like I\u2019ll be the one that does it. So, I would be happy to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters separately that Cuba has been a national security threat for years because of its ties to U.S. adversaries and that Trump is intent on addressing it.<\/p>\n

Rubio says the US prefers a negotiated agreement with Cuba<\/h3>\n

Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants who has long taken a hard-line against Cuba\u2019s socialist leadership, said the Trump administration wants to\u00a0resolve differences with Cuba peacefully\u00a0but is doubtful the U.S. can reach a diplomatic resolution with the island\u2019s current government.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s \u201cpreference is always a negotiated agreement that\u2019s peaceful. That\u2019s always our preference. That remains our preference with Cuba,\u201d Rubio said in Miami before boarding a plane to attend a NATO meeting in Sweden and then visit India.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just being honest with you, you know, the likelihood of that happening, given who we\u2019re dealing with right now, is not high,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Top Trump aides \u2014 including Rubio,\u00a0CIA chief John Ratcliffe\u00a0and other senior national security officials \u2014 have met with Cuban officials in recent months to explore possible improvements in relations. But the U.S. side has come away unimpressed from those talks, leading to even more sanctions imposed on the Cuban government in the past week.<\/p>\n

Over the years, Cuba has gotten used to \u201cbuying time and waiting us out,\u201d Rubio said. \u201cThey\u2019re not going to be able to wait us out or buy time. We\u2019re very serious, we\u2019re very focused.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked whether the U.S. would use force in Cuba to change the island\u2019s political system, Rubio repeated that a diplomatic settlement was preferred but noted that \u201cthe president always has the option to do whatever it takes to support and protect the national interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pushed back on a reporter\u2019s suggestion that it sounded like \u201cnation-building,\u201d insisting it was about addressing a national security risk.<\/p>\n

New threats follow US announcement of charges against Castro<\/h3>\n

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday\u00a0unveiled an indictment\u00a0that accuses Castro of ordering the\u00a0shootdown in 1996 of civilian planes\u00a0flown by Miami-based exiles. The charges, which were secretly filed by a grand jury in April, included murder and destruction of an airplane.<\/p>\n

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Cuban President Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel has condemned the indictment as a political stunt that sought only to \u201cjustify the folly of a military aggression against Cuba.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Castro indictment has led many to believe that the Trump administration is following the same playbook it did when it\u00a0captured then-Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u00a0in a military operation in early January. Maduro, who has been imprisoned in the U.S. since his seizure, faces federal\u00a0drug trafficking charges\u00a0and has pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n

The U.S. military\u00a0touted the arrival\u00a0of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier and accompanying ships to the Caribbean Sea on the same day the charges against Castro were announced. U.S. Southern Command said the ships are taking part in maritime exercises with partners in Latin America that began in March.<\/p>\n

Rubio would not discuss how the U.S. might move to implement the indictment against Castro, who turns 95 next month.<\/p>\n

Trump has been threatening military action in Cuba ever since ousting Maduro and then ordering an energy blockade that choked off fuel shipments to Cuba. That has led to severe blackouts,\u00a0food shortages\u00a0and an economic collapse across the island.<\/p>\n

Trump has ratcheted up talk of regime change in Cuba after pledging to conduct a\u00a0\u201cfriendly takeover\u201d of the country\u00a0if its leadership did not open its economy to American investment and kick out U.S. adversaries.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Rubio said Cuba poses a serious national security threat to America because of its security and intelligence ties with China and Russia and friendly relations with U.S. foes in Latin America.<\/p>\n

China opposes U.S. sanctions and pressure on Cuba, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, said Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cChina firmly supports Cuba in safeguarding its national sovereignty and national dignity and opposes external interference,\u201d Guo added.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press writers Simina Mistreanu in Bangkok and Ben Finley in Washington contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

Read more High Desert State Prison inmate stabbed to death, deemed homicide<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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