Rubio Doubtful of Diplomacy With Cuba  05/22 06:21

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump and America's top diplomat on 
Thursday again raised the specter of U.S. military intervention in Cuba, a 
renewed threat that takes on greater weight a day after the administration 
announced criminal charges against the island's former leader, Ral Castro.

   Trump said previous U.S. presidents have considered intervening in Cuba for 
decades but that "it looks like I'll be the one that does it."

   "Other presidents have looked at this for 50, 60 years, doing something," 
Trump told reporters when asked about Cuba during an environmental event in the 
Oval Office. "And, it looks like I'll be the one that does it. So, I would be 
happy to do it."

   Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters separately that Cuba has been 
a national security threat for years because of its ties to U.S. adversaries 
and that Trump is intent on addressing it.

   Rubio says the US prefers a negotiated agreement with Cuba

   Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants who has long taken a hard-line against 
Cuba's socialist leadership, said the Trump administration wants to resolve 
differences with Cuba peacefully but is doubtful the U.S. can reach a 
diplomatic resolution with the island's current government.

   Trump's "preference is always a negotiated agreement that's peaceful. That's 
always our preference. That remains our preference with Cuba," Rubio said in 
Miami before boarding a plane to attend a NATO meeting in Sweden and then visit 
India.

   "I'm just being honest with you, you know, the likelihood of that happening, 
given who we're dealing with right now, is not high," he said.

   Top Trump aides -- including Rubio, CIA chief John Ratcliffe and other 
senior national security officials -- have met with Cuban officials in recent 
months to explore possible improvements in relations. But the U.S. side has 
come away unimpressed from those talks, leading to even more sanctions imposed 
on the Cuban government in the past week.

   Over the years, Cuba has gotten used to "buying time and waiting us out," 
Rubio said. "They're not going to be able to wait us out or buy time. We're 
very serious, we're very focused."

   When asked whether the U.S. would use force in Cuba to change the island's 
political system, Rubio repeated that a diplomatic settlement was preferred but 
noted that "the president always has the option to do whatever it takes to 
support and protect the national interest."

   He pushed back on a reporter's suggestion that it sounded like 
"nation-building," insisting it was about addressing a national security risk.

   New threats follow US announcement of charges against Castro

   Federal prosecutors on Wednesday unveiled an indictment that accuses Castro 
of ordering the shootdown in 1996 of civilian planes flown by Miami-based 
exiles. The charges, which were secretly filed by a grand jury in April, 
included murder and destruction of an airplane.

   Cuban President Miguel Daz-Canel has condemned the indictment as a 
political stunt that sought only to "justify the folly of a military aggression 
against Cuba."

   The Castro indictment has led many to believe that the Trump administration 
is following the same playbook it did when it captured then-Venezuelan 
President Nicols Maduro in a military operation in early January. Maduro, who 
has been imprisoned in the U.S. since his seizure, faces federal drug 
trafficking charges and has pleaded not guilty.

   The U.S. military touted the arrival of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier and 
accompanying ships to the Caribbean Sea on the same day the charges against 
Castro were announced. U.S. Southern Command said the ships are taking part in 
maritime exercises with partners in Latin America that began in March.

   Rubio would not discuss how the U.S. might move to implement the indictment 
against Castro, who turns 95 next month.

   Trump has been threatening military action in Cuba ever since ousting Maduro 
and then ordering an energy blockade that choked off fuel shipments to Cuba. 
That has led to severe blackouts, food shortages and an economic collapse 
across the island.

   The Trump administration this month also has slapped new sanctions on Cuba, 
the largest of which is against Grupo de Administracin Empresarial S.A., a 
business conglomerate operated by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces.

   On Thursday, Rubio announced that the sister of the GAESA's executive 
president, who was living in the U.S., has had her green card revoked and been 
arrested, and is now in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.

   "Past Administrations have permitted the families of Cuban military elites, 
Iranian terrorists and other reprehensible organizations to enjoy lavish 
lifestyles in our country funded by stolen blood-money, while the people they 
repress at home suffer in increasingly dire circumstances. No longer," Rubio 
said in a statement.

   Trump has ratcheted up talk of regime change in Cuba after pledging to 
conduct a "friendly takeover" of the country if its leadership did not open its 
economy to American investment and kick out U.S. adversaries.

   On Thursday, Rubio said Cuba poses a serious national security threat to 
America because of its security and intelligence ties with China and Russia and 
friendly relations with U.S. foes in Latin America.

   China opposes U.S. sanctions and pressure on Cuba, a Chinese Foreign 
Ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, said Thursday.

   "China firmly supports Cuba in safeguarding its national sovereignty and 
national dignity and opposes external interference," Guo added.