Cuba says it is prepared if U.S. chooses to sever diplomatic ties

By Sarah Marsh

 

Cuba's Foreign Ministry's General Director for U.S. Affairs Carlos Fernandez de Cossio attends the annual U.S.-Cuban academic conference in Havana, Cuba, December 16, 2019. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

 

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba's Communist government is prepared if the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump decides to sever diplomatic relations although it hopes that does not come to pass, a top Cuban diplomat said on Monday.

 

Relations were re-established five years ago this week under former Democratic President Barack Obama following half a century of hostility, a stance that earned the United States lots of goodwill from Latin America, which has been clamouring for such a detente for years.

 

Washington loosened trade and travel restrictions, Obama visited Havana, and the old Cold War foes looked on track to fully normalizing their relationship.

 

But under Republican Trump all that has changed. Amid an attack on socialism in Latin America, his administration has not only tightened restrictions, such as banning U.S. cruises again, but even imposed sanctions it had never resorted to before.

 

It has, for example, allowed U.S. citizens to bring lawsuits against foreign companies deemed to be trafficking in Cuban properties nationalized after Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution, damaging investor appetite.

 

"There are powerful people today in the U.S. government that want to increasingly apply hostile measures and sever our bilateral relationship," the Cuban Foreign Ministry's General Director for U.S. Affairs Carlos Fernandez de Cossio told reporters on the sidelines of an annual U.S.-Cuban academic conference in Havana.

 

"If that were to be the case, we are ready to face that reality, but it is not what the people of Cuba want and not what the government of Cuba is seeking."

 

The U.S. says it is pressuring Cuba to end human rights violations such as harassment of opponents of Cuba's one party system. It also wants Havana to stop supporting socialist Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

 

"While there are no plans to break off diplomatic ties at this time, one thing that has clearly reached a low point is the Castro regime’s abuses of its own people," a State Department official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "In addition, the regime is spreading its totalitarian repression to other countries in the region."

 

Havana says the United States does not have the moral authority to lecture anyone on human rights and should not intervene in other countries' domestic affairs.

 

Analysts say Cuba paradoxically often clamps down more on dissent when it feels under siege from the United States. Activists have complained of an increase in repression of late.

 

Some believe Trump is eyeing the 2020 election, with the swing state of Florida home to many Cuban-American exiles who welcome the harder line on Havana.

 

(Reporting by Sarah Marsh; Additional Reporting by Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Editing by Grant McCool)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-12-17

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What danger does Cuba presents to the US?

Or is it that we can't allow a socialist country to succeed, so we can say socialism sucks.

Done OK without them for 60 years...

28 minutes ago, webfact said:

Some believe Trump is eyeing the 2020 election, with the swing state of Florida home to many Cuban-American exiles who welcome the harder line on Havana.

I think the above words pretty much sum up the situation. More so than ever, pretty much all of Trumps decisions are predicated on winning the throne for a second term.

Imo it’s a shame we don’t have good relations they are our neibhors it was a mistake on donalds side to create this totally unessary friction it’s time to be friends again

Hope they stockpiled vintage car parts while the sun was shining

Easy solution, tell Donald he can build some resorts there LOL

8 hours ago, baansgr said:

Done OK without them for 60 years...

Adult diapers were likely a side product of the Cuban missile as the average joe was peeing his pants... but hey, the king don is in construction, right?... imagine the boom in fallout shelter demand... maga with underground moles

The Chinese will surely snuggle up with Cuba (if this comes to fruition).

3 hours ago, MeePeeMai said:

The Chinese will surely snuggle up with Cuba (if this comes to fruition).

The trade swaps of sugar for hard goods from China finished a long time ago

11 hours ago, MeePeeMai said:

The Chinese will surely snuggle up with Cuba (if this comes to fruition).

Nah...maybe the Russians.

4 hours ago, copa8 said:

Nah...maybe the Russians.

Those evil Russians are trying to take over the world! ????

On 12/17/2019 at 6:30 AM, webfact said:

Havana says the United States does not have the moral authority to lecture anyone on human rights and should not intervene in other countries' domestic affairs.

Since when did that EVER stopped usa blackmailing and bullying other countries?!? Intervening in other countries domestic affairs is THE trademark of usa policy, now, in the past and probably (but not hopefully!) in the future