Cuba tensions on the rise as Trump pushes for ‘fundamental change’

Tensions between the U.S. and Cuba are rising once again after President Trump told world leaders gathered at the United Nations General Assembly that he was seeking “fundamental change” from the island and asserting that “freedom will be coming to Cuba.”

The Trump administration has never walked back threats of a possible military intervention — an idea Cuban leaders were asked about this week after a report from CBS News.

The report included interviews with officials who said planning documents about sending Army Reserve staff to aid Southern Command, the Pentagon’s wing focused on the Caribbean, were in reference to Cuba.

Meanwhile, Cuban officials present for the General Assembly slammed Trump for calling them a “failed state.” They also criticized the U.S. for imposing a fuel blockade they say has crippled activity on the island — but not their resolve — as the U.S. pushes for regime change.

“A few days ago, the president of the United States declared in this room that Cuba was ‘a failed State’. If that were the case, why did they have to impose a fuel blockade? Why did they impose secondary sanctions? Why do they have to threaten, persecute and exert pressures on other states?” Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla said during Saturday’s speech.

“We are often asked what is the U.S. pursuing with such an aggressive behavior, and the question usually surprises us, because the representatives of that government have outrightly declared their purpose to take Cuba, control the country and dominate the economy.”

Cuba is in a difficult position. 

A U.S. blockade has choked off the oil supply to the island, and an already struggling electric grid is now largely nonfunctional, with power at most available for an hour or two each day.

Cuba has also rolled out a series of economic reforms long called for by U.S. officials. Though they represent a significant opening of Cuba’s economy, including to foreign investment, those measures come as the Trump administration continually rolls out punishing new sanctions, including to those seeking to do business in Cuba.

Francisco Pichón, a U.N. coordinator in Cuba, told The New York Times earlier this month that shipping companies carrying items not covered by sanctions — including food and medical supplies — were showing signs of “over-compliance,” failing to deliver........

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