Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel addressed a rally in Havana in support of Venezuela, condemning Washington’s operation. Cuba-Venezuela relations are a deep, mutually dependent alliance forged by shared socialist ideology and anti-US sentiment, centered on Venezuela providing subsidized oil for Cuban doctors, military, and intelligence support,
Deposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife appeared in a federal court in New York City last week following their capture by U.S. forces in a military operation in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas.
Following the operation, President Donald Trump said that the U.S. would “run” Venezuela for an unspecified “period of time.” Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has been sworn in as interim leader to lead the country.
Since the operation to capture Maduro, Trump has also issued threats against Cuba, Colombia and Mexico.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it’s “too soon to say” when elections could be held in Venezuela when pressed during a briefing on Monday.
President Donald Trump has not provided a timeline on elections in the wake of Nicolas Maduro’s ouster.
Asked if Trump has confidence in interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez, Leavitt said Trump made the “right, realistic assessment” of what actions needed to be taken regarding Venezuela’s leadership. She also said Rodriguez and her team “have been very cooperative with the United States,” citing last week’s energy deal.
“So we’ve seen a great level of cooperation, and the president expects that to continue,” Leavitt added.
‘No moral authority to point fingers at Cuba’
In an apparent response to an earlier social media post from President Trump, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez posted on social media Sunday, saying in part “they have no moral authority to point fingers at Cuba on anything, absolutely anything, those who turn everything into a business, even human lives.”
He concluded the post, “Cuba is a free, independent, and sovereign nation. No one dictates what we do. Cuba does not aggress; it is aggressed upon by the United States for 66 years, and it does not threaten; it prepares, ready to defend the Homeland to the last drop of blood.”
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez also posted a statement, saying in part, “Like any country, Cuba has the absolute right to import fuel from those markets willing to export it and that exercise their own right to develop their trade relations without interference or subordination to the unilateral coercive measures” of the United States.
ABC
