Trump shared a post on social media. In this, some people suggested that Marco Rubio should lead Cuba, because he himself is of Cuban origin. On this Trump said jokingly, Sounds good to me! (That sounds fine to me). Although there is no such official US policy or diplomatic plan yet, this statement reflects the aggressive thinking Trump has recently been adopting towards Latin America. This statement is also important because Rubio has been a staunch critic of Cuba’s communist government for a long time.
Now neither oil nor money will be available
Earlier, Trump had made it clear that after Maduro’s capture in Venezuela, Cuba’s ‘lifeline’ has been cut. Trump claimed that Cuba had been taking huge amounts of oil and money for years in exchange for providing security services to Venezuelan leaders. He said, but no more! Now Cuba will get zero oil and money. Trump said that Venezuela no longer needs the protection of those thugs and extortionists (Cuba), because now it has the protection of the US military.
Cuba counterattacks – We are not mercenaries
Cuba has reacted sharply to these allegations of Trump. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez rejected Trump’s statements outright. Rodriguez said Cuba has never taken money or material in exchange for security services. He accused America of behaving like criminals which is a threat to global peace. Cuba insisted it had a sovereign right to trade for energy and would not bow to US sanctions or “military coercion”.
All of Latin America on target?
This attitude of Trump is not limited to Cuba only. Last week he also made very harsh remarks about Colombia. Trump had described Colombia as a country run by a sick man and repeated the same phrase when asked about possible US action there: Sounds good to me. Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, calling it US aggression, has appealed to Latin American countries to unite and not become “servants” of foreign powers.