Trump and his top officials have taken a hard-hit approach to Cuba since taking office in January.
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Scripps News
WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) – Senior Cuba visiting officials on Tuesday accused the Trump administration of increasing tensions between Washington and Havana, and expressed concern that the US is trying to spark a military conflict.
Speaking to a reporter at the Cuban Embassy in Washington, Johanna Tablada, deputy director of US affairs at Cuba’s Foreign Ministry, said an armed conflict between the two old Cold War rivals was “not a good idea,” and said that the Cuban government is trying to mitigate the situation, but that the US has determined that it will damage further relations.
Tablada said the new Trump administration, targeting communist-controlled Cuba, “is intended to “dynamite our relationship (ships) and in my opinion to create conditions for military conflict, where necessary.”
Republican US President Donald Trump and his top officials have taken a hard-wired approach to Cuba since taking office in January, bringing longtime enemies back to the US list of national terrorist sponsors, tightening rules on remittances, and cutting off immigration programs that allowed some Cubans to work legally in the United States.
Trump officials have not publicly threatened military action. The US State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Chief Mike Hammer of the US Mission – the top American diplomat in Havana – has traveled widely across the island in recent months to meet political opposition, raising the anger of the Cuban government and accusing him of seeking unrest.
The Cuban Foreign Ministry issued a verbal warning to Hammer last week, saying it had incited Cuban citizens to commit serious criminal acts, attack constitutional orders and encourage authorities to act.
Tablada accused Hammer of leading US humanitarian funds to undermine the Cuban government, saying Cuban diplomats are not allowed to engage in similar actions in the United States.
“It’s not a good idea to push both countries into a conflict and conflict scenario,” she said.
A few days before Trump took office in January, former President Joe Biden’s administration removed Cuba from the terrorism blacklist, effectively reversing sanctions from Trump’s first term.
After returning to the office, Trump quickly blacklisted Cuba, reviving many restrictions on trade and travel that Biden had eased.
