Washington, Mar 17 (AP) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday said Cuba “needs new people in charge” to repair it as the current government is unable to fix the island’s struggling economy.
Large parts of Cuba were without power on Tuesday after its third blackout in four months underscored the island’s deepening energy and economic crises and rising political tensions with US President Donald Trump.
Cuba’s aging grid has drastically eroded in recent years, leading to daily outages and an increase in significant blackouts.
The government blames its woes on a US energy blockade after Trump in January warned of tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba.
Trump was asked during a meeting in the Oval Office with the prime minister of Ireland about the US seeking regime change in Cuba but deferred to his Secretary of State, Rubio.
Rubio, who himself is of Cuban heritage, said the island “has an economy that doesn’t work in a political and governmental system. They can’t fix it”.
“So they have to change dramatically,” Rubio said.
The Trump administration is demanding that Cuba release political prisoners and move toward political and economic liberalisation in return for a lifting of sanctions. Trump has also raised the possibility of a “friendly takeover of Cuba.” Critical oil shipments from Venezuela were halted after the US attacked the South American country in early January and arrested its then-president, Nicolas Maduro.
While Cuba produces 40% of its petroleum and has been generating its own power, it hasn’t been sufficient to meet demand as its electric grid continues to crumble. (AP) SCY SCY
Category: Breaking News
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