“People are suffering there”: Trump suggests next US target after Venezuela
4 January 07:14
US President Donald Trump has hinted that after Venezuela, Cuba could be next. At the same time, he assured that he was not considering military action against Cuba.
This was reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to Trump’s statement during a press conference, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
Trump said that the situations in both countries, Venezuela and Cuba, allegedly have a lot in common, and “helping the Cuban people” would be a logical step, as things are “not going well there.”
“The system is not working in the best way. People are suffering there. I think eventually we’ll talk about Cuba, because Cuba is failing as a country,” Trump said.
At the same time, Trump assured that he is not considering military action against Cuba: in his opinion, “Cuba will fall of its own accord because it is in a very bad state.” He hinted that Cuba and Venezuela were dependent on each other, with Cubans helping Maduro build his defense in return for oil and money.
“Cuba has always been very dependent on Venezuela. That’s where they got their money from, and they defended Venezuela, but in this case it didn’t work out too well… You know, last night many Cubans lost their lives. Did you know about that? Many Cubans lost their lives. They were defending Maduro. It was a bad move,” he said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also attended the press conference, advised the Cuban government to take Trump’s words and actions against Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro not as news, but as a real threat and a final warning.
“When the president speaks, his words should be taken seriously. If I lived in Havana and was a member of the government, I would be very concerned, at the very least,” Rubio said.
As a reminder, on the night of January 2 to 3, the United States conducted an operation in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. The operation involved 150 aircraft, the US Navy, drones and CIA agents.
U.S. President Donald Trump later announced the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and released the first photo of Maduro after his capture aboard the USS Iwo Jima. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy joked that the United States should capture Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in the same way.
Trump has also already said at a briefing that the United States will lead Venezuela until the transfer of power.
