WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said on Thursday at the White House that he was standing firm on his policy on Cuba.
Trump said other U.S. presidents had considered intervening in Cuba for decades.
“It looks like I’ll be the one that does it,” Trump said. “So, I would be happy to do it.”
Also on Thursday, diplomats from both Russia and China expressed their support for the Cuban government and opposition to U.S. sanctions.
“China firmly supports Cuba in safeguarding its national sovereignty and national dignity and opposes external interference,” Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told reporters.
Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, also talked to reporters on Thursday.
“We reaffirm our full solidarity with Cuba,” Zakharova told reporters and wrote on X.
After the U.S. military captured Nicolás Maduro, who also had the support of China and Russia, Trump deployed U.S. State Secretary Marco Rubio to hold talks with Venezuelan and Cuban officials and cut the flow of Venezuelan oil to Cuba.
Trump also imposed sanctions on any country that delivers oil to Cuba, except for a Russian ship that brought some brief relief.
On Wednesday, before the U.S. Justice Department announced the indictment against Raúl Castro and five Cuban military pilots, the U.S. Southern Command welcomed the Nimitz carrier strike group to the Caribbean.
“The president always has the option to do whatever it takes to support and protect the national interest,” Rubio said on Thursday. He added that Trump always prefers a diplomatic settlement.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel recently released a statement warning of a “bloodbath” if there is a U.S. military intervention. He also defended Castro as “a hero” and a “statesman.”
Meanwhile, in Miami-Dade County, a group of pro-democracy activists met on Thursday to discuss the possibility of an International Criminal Court case against members of the Castro regime accused of human rights violations.
RELATED STORIES
- Rubio says probability of U.S.-Cuba deal is ‘not high’
- Cuban pro-democracy activists meet in Miami-Dade after Raúl Castro’s indictment
- U.S. Southern Command welcomes Nimitz carrier strike group to Caribbean
- Cuban pro-democracy activists meet in Miami-Dade after Raúl Castro’s indictment
- U.S. indicts Raúl Castro over 1996 fatal shootdown of Brothers to the Rescue planes
- Watch the speeches during Raul Castro indictment announcement at Freedom Tower
- Cuban exiles at Freedom Tower react to Raúl Castro indictment
- Cuban exiles at Miami’s Cafe Versailles react to Raul Castro indictment news: ‘All for it’
- Republican lawmakers from Florida react to Raúl Castro’s indictment
- Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel reacts to Raúl Castro’s indictment
Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.
