US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have again raised the prospect of military intervention in Cuba, a threat that comes as the administration announced criminal charges against former Cuban leader Raúl Castro.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said: 'Other presidents have looked at this for 50, 60 years, doing something. And it looks like I’ll be the one that does it.' Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants and a long-time hardliner, expressed doubt that a diplomatic resolution was possible with Havana's current leadership, stating: 'The likelihood of that happening ... is not high.'
On Wednesday, federal prosecutors indicted Castro for ordering the shooting down of civilian planes in 1996, charges that include murder and destruction of an aircraft. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the indictment as a political stunt to 'justify the folly of a military aggression against Cuba'.
The US military has also highlighted the arrival of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier in the Caribbean Sea, coinciding with the announcement of charges. Rubio declined to discuss how the US might enforce the indictment against the 95-year-old Castro.
Rubio announced that the sister of the executive president of Gaesa, a Cuban military-run conglomerate recently sanctioned, had her green card revoked and was taken into ICE custody. He said past administrations had allowed 'families of Cuban military elites ... to enjoy lavish lifestyles ... funded by stolen blood-money'.
