US President Donald Trump has escalated his rhetoric against Cuba, saying he expects to have the “honour” of “taking Cuba in some form” and that “I can do anything I want” with the country.
The statements come as Cuba and the United States have opened talks aimed at improving their largely adverse relations, which have reached one of their most contentious moments in the 67 years since Fidel Castro overthrew what had been a close US ally.
“I do believe I’ll be … having the honour of taking Cuba. That’s a big honour. Taking Cuba in some form,” Trump told reporters as the island faces an unprecedented economic crisis.
“I mean, whether I free it, take it. Think I can do anything I want with it. You want to know the truth,” he said at a signing event in the Oval Office.
After Trump spoke, The New York Times reported that removing Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel from office is a key US objective in the bilateral talks, citing four people familiar with the talks.
Cuba has traditionally rejected any interference in its internal affairs and has considered any proposals on that front a deal-breaker for any agreement.
Diaz-Canel, 65, who succeeded the late Fidel Castro and his brother Raul Castro as president in 2018, said he expected talks with the United States to take place “under the principles of equality and respect for the political systems of both countries, sovereignty and self-determination.”
Trump, after abducting Venezuelaās Nicolas Maduro from power and joining Israel in attacking Iran, has said Cuba would be “next.”