Malik Miah
SPEAKING FROM THE Oval Office, Donald Trump hinted he could be the president who finally takes direct action against Havana after decades of failed destabilization efforts from Washington.
The imperial president of the United States made the declaration on May 22, two days after his Department of Justice filed a made-up charge against former President and Defense Minister Raul Castro, now 94.
“Other presidents have looked at this for 50, 60 years,” Trump said. “It looks like I’ll be the one that does it.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said, “We’re very serious.” Rubio is a Cuban American hawk. His parents fled Cuba to Miami in 1956 under the U.S.-backed Fulgencio Batista regime. They returned to Cuba briefly before turning against the 1959 socialist revolution.
Rubio accused Cuba of acting as a national security threat because of its close ties with “America’s enemies,” including China and Russia. He said the administration is “losing patience” with Havana after months of behind-the-scenes talks went nowhere.
The U.S. demand is regime change first, and then total dismantling of the Cuban Revolution and what it has represented worldwide, especially across Latin America.
The 1959 Revolution was embraced by the worldwide youth radicalization of the “Sixties.” T-shirts with Che Guevara’s image were everywhere. Cuba’s socialist internationalism was exemplified by his slogan “Create two, three and many Vietnams.”
Black Nationalists, Pan Africanists, and pro-socialist internationalists praised and supported the Cuban Revolution. Many Black militants fled to Cuba in the 1960s and 1970s facing FBI and state violence and threats to their lives.
“Cuba has gotten used to buying time and waiting us out,” Rubio said before departing for overseas meetings. “They’re not going to be able to wait us out this time. We’re profoundly serious.”
While Rubio insisted Trump still prefers a peaceful negotiated deal, he admitted the odds of diplomacy succeeding are slim “given who we’re dealing with right now.”
And when pressed on whether the U.S. could use force to topple Cuba’s government, Rubio pointedly noted that Trump “always has the option to do whatever it takes to protect the national interest.”
Trump and his autocratic regime are repeating the playbook to justify his kidnapping of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, the U.S. war on Iran and support to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
In the case of Iran Trump says the United States should have taken it out 47 years ago when the Iranian people overthrew the U.S.- installed Shah. In regard to Cuba, he says the United States should have overthrown the Castro-led revolution decades ago.
Why now? Trump declared the day he took office in what is called Trump 2.0 that the greatest military power in human history had the right to impose its will everywhere — from Greenland in Europe to any country in the world. He doesn’t claim that U.S. actions are based on “democracy,” or a “rules-based world,” as previous Republican and Democrat U.S. presidents did.
Made-up Charges and Responses
The Cuban government in 1996 shot downtown civilian planes flown by counter-revolutionary Cuban exiles from Miami, “Brothers to the Rescue.” They had previously entered Cuban airspace despite warnings.
The formal accusation accuses Castro of murder and destroying an aircraft in one of the most notorious incidents in U.S.-Cuba history. Raul Castro was defense minister at the time. His brother Fidel was longtime president and head of the Communist Party.
Cuba’s current president Miguel Díaz-Canel blasted the charges as a “political stunt” designed to justify possible American aggression. Fueling speculation even further, the Pentagon announced the arrival of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group in the Caribbean the very same day the charges became public.
Officially the Navy says the deployment is part of ongoing regional military exercises. Unofficially, it sent a strong threat to Havana.
China condemned American “interference” and declared its support for Cuba’s sovereignty. Countries across the Global South have supported Cuba’s sovereignty. Mass parties like the Communist Party of India, for example, have declared solidarity with the Cuban government and people.
But with warships now circling the Caribbean, tightening sanctions, and Trump openly talking about intervention, tensions between Washington and Havana are suddenly approaching their most dangerous level in years.
Hands Off Raul Castro and Hands Off Cuba protests have occurred. Many who protested Trump’s war on Iran have participated.
The U.S. threat is at a new stage with total blockade of energy sources. Action is urgent. Solidarity with Cuba is more important than ever.