April is here, as United States President Donald Trump left no doubt about his intentions towards the beleaguered Republic of Cuba. In this, the fourth month of the year, the Caribbean island continues to experience economic hardship from the U.S.-led blockade on imports, especially oil needed for the country to sustain.
The president fired the opening salvo via an executive order on January 29.
Plainly titled “addressing threats to the United States by the government of Cuba,” he declared himself succinctly.
“I find that the policies, practices, and actions of the Government of Cuba constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States, to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”
Just after his excursion in Venezuela and the overthrow of its president Nicolas Maduro, Trump set in motion what is likely to be American policy in the future. While focusing on escalating military operations in the Middle East and Iran, an American flotilla encircled the island, effectively cutting off desperately needed crude oil upon which its electrical power grid depends. This has led to power outages and national blackouts.
The U.S. in turn has the specter of international tariffs against any country who dares to breach the embargo. Trump sees this as a new era in foreign policy, borrowing from another, earlier incident from American history, the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, which warned against further European expansion in the Western Hemisphere.
“The Monroe Doctrine is a big deal, but we’ve superseded it by a lot, by a real lot. They now call it the Donroe document,” Trump said, attaching the first letter of his name to the past series of principles.
Both Cuba and Venezuela are communist countries whose partnership enabled them to resist U.S. influence, along with other socialist countries in Central and South America.
The US administration is ratcheting up pressure.
US Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, Marco Rubio, is a second-generation American of Cuban descent whose family immigrated from the communist country. On bond with the Trump agenda, he has stated U.S. policy against the Red menace in no uncertain terms.
“We should be clear in our language. We don’t just condemn this tyranny. We condemn this communist, this Marxist, this socialist tyranny. Call it for what it is.”
The actual blockade has been in place since President John F. Kennedy initiated it in 1962, in the wake of the historic Cuban Missile Crisis when the world came close to nuclear conflict. Because of these sanctions and other factors, it has been among the poorest nations in the world. In spite of this, Cubans have successfully survived 13 American presidents since “Revolución Cubana” occurred on Jan. 1, 1959. This year Trump simply tightened the noose.
“You know, all my life I’ve been hearing about the United States and Cuba. When will the United States have the honor of taking Cuba?” He said in an interview in the Oval Office on March 17.
Trump is in a position to succeed where his successors could not.
“I do believe I’ll be having the honor of taking Cuba,” he continued before a number of news outlets.
“I think I can do anything I want with it.”
On March 30, the embargo was loosened to let the Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin drop anchor and offload 100,000 tons of crude oil. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, informed the Associated Press that he spoke with the US government prior to the shipment.
“Russia considers it its duty not to stand aside, but to provide the necessary assistance to our Cuban friends,” he explained.
This came after the World Health Organization (WHO) cautioned that the nation’s emergency and intensive care facilities couldn’t function if the blockade continued. He provided a sound bite to NPR as he flew into Washington, DC, on Air Force One that same day.
“We have a tanker out there. We don’t mind having somebody get a boatload because they need… they have to survive,” he said.
How far this will go in addressing a shortfall impacting 10 million Cubans remains to be seen. The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has voiced concerns about the long-term effects of the shortages caused by the blockade as well.
On April 1, the European Union pledged over $2 million in humanitarian aid to follow up on the oil delivery. This involves essentials in the way of food, drinking water, and other basics, said its Commissioner for Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib.
Little mentioned in the equation is the strategic garrison and naval base at Guantanamo Bay, on the southeast coast. Composed of perhaps 6,000 civilians and military personnel, it is largely known as a detention center for prisoners in the war on terror but will likely figure in the upcoming drama.
