U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio talked about Cuba during a news conference on Wednesday in the Philippines.
Rubio said the leaders of the one-party communist state’s priorities were to hold onto power and not to lose control of the people.
“The biggest problem Cuba has is that the regime is a disaster, their economic model doesn’t work, and the people who run the country don’t know what the hell they’re doing,” Rubio said.
Related report: Trump administration accuses Cuba of promoting left-wing terrorism and ‘subversion’
The Trump administration intends to continue talks with Cuban officials, according to Rubio.
“This is a government that has spent, a regime that has spent, the better part of 30, 40, 50 years destabilizing the region in the movements that they’ve supported,” Rubio said.
Related report: American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora hosts forum on island’s ‘transition to Democracy’
The Trump administration is focused on threats by Cuba’s allies and mass migration, according to Rubio.
“We’re prepared to do what we can do to effectuate a positive change in Cuba because it directly impacts our national security,” Rubio said. “Cuba matters to us because it’s 90 miles from our shores.”
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