Cuba prepares militarily to confront a possible "American invasion"
Cuba is bracing for what it calls a possible "American invasion" of the country, which has been a thorn in the side of the United States for decades. Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio confirmed in a televised interview on Sunday that Havana is preparing for the possibility of an invasion by the US military, but that its government does not want to escalate its relationship with the United States and its president, Donald Trump. "Our military is always on high alert," De Cossio told NBC. "In fact, these days it is preparing for the possibility of military aggression. In light of what is happening in the world, it would be naive not to." "But we hope that doesn't happen," Di Cossio added. "We see no reason for it to happen, nor how it can be justified." He continued, "Cuba does not want a conflict with the United States. We have a need to protect ourselves and we have the right to do so, but we are ready to sit down for dialogue." Washington, which has opposed the communist regime in Cuba since it seized power in 1959, intensified its economic pressure on the island in January by banning fuel supplies, immediately after arresting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was Havana's most prominent ally. In 1961, the United States failed to overthrow the regime of Cuban President Fidel Castro through the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. On Monday, Trump expressed his belief that he would have the "honor of taking over Cuba," without specifying exactly what he meant, and also spoke of "liberating" it. On Sunday morning, Cuban authorities worked to restore electricity after another nationwide blackout, the seventh in less than a year and a half, which occurred on Saturday evening. In an interview with NBC recorded before the recent outage, De Cossio asserted that his government is "taking the most proactive steps possible to address the situation." He said, "We really hope that fuel will reach Cuba one way or another, and that this embargo imposed by the United States will not last much longer, and that it will not be possible to maintain it indefinitely." About a week ago, Trump vowed to "take over" Cuba, which is plunged into darkness with a complete power outage as a result of the oil embargo imposed on it by Washington. After nearly seven decades of defying the United States, Cuban authorities are under enormous pressure from the Trump administration.
"All my life I've been hearing about the United States and Cuba," Trump told reporters at the White House. "When will the United States do that?" Trump added: "I think I would have the honor of taking over Cuba." He continued: "Whether I liberate it or take it over (...) I think I can do whatever I want with it. You want the truth, they are a very weak nation at the moment."
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