Donald Trump turns up the heat on Cuba

{"text":[[{"start":9.35,"text":"The Trump administration is sharply escalating its pressure campaign to get Cuba to open up its economy and allow greater political freedoms. "}],[{"start":17.65,"text":"Even as the conflict in Iran continues, the US is using a mix of threats and inducements — including new sanctions, potential indictments and offers of aid — to force the issue in the coming weeks."}],[{"start":28.4,"text":"In a surprise visit to the island on Thursday, CIA director John Ratcliffe delivered a message that Cuba had a “rare chance to stabilise its failing economy”, according to a US official."}],[{"start":39.65,"text":"But there was also an implicit threat that the US could resort to the sort of military action that it took in Venezuela in January, when the country’s president Nicolás Maduro was seized and taken to the US where he is awaiting prosecution. "}],[{"start":54.8,"text":"The US official said that Cuba should be under “no illusions that the president will not enforce red lines”."}],[{"start":61.65,"text":"The two governments have been in talks since February but after some initial signs of movement, the US administration has over the past fortnight been signalling a sense of growing frustration. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":72.35,"text":"A US official said the administration feared the Cubans were playing for time, given both the drawn-out conflict with Iran and opinion polls predicting strong results for the Democrats in November’s midterm elections."}],[{"start":84.3,"text":"Washington is pushing for Cuba to liberalise its economy, allowing more foreign investment and a much bigger private sector, as well as calling for the release of political prisoners and the start of political reforms."}],[{"start":95.8,"text":"In what some analysts said was a sign Havana was trying to demonstrate it is engaged in genuine negotiations, the Ratcliffe visit was first publicised by the Cuban government, which has often denied such meetings in the past, and was accompanied by the release of a high-profile political prisoner."}],[{"start":113.8,"text":"In a statement published on Friday by Granma, the official paper of the Communist party, the government said that during the meeting it had “demonstrated categorically that Cuba does not constitute a threat to US national security”, as the Trump administration has claimed, and that there was no reason to include it on the list of countries that support terrorism."}],[{"start":133.35,"text":"As the talks have seemed to stall in recent weeks, the US has intensified economic pressure on Cuba, making it harder for the government to earn much-needed foreign exchange."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":144.1,"text":"New sanctions have been placed on a military-led conglomerate that controls a significant chunk of the economy. The US has also expanded the scope of potential secondary sanctions on international companies, which led the Canadian company Sherritt to pull out of a nickel and cobalt mining joint venture and which could affect a number of foreign-run hotels."}],[{"start":165.2,"text":"An energy blockade imposed by the US has also started to have a dramatic impact, with the Cuban government revealing on Wednesday that it had run out of diesel and fuel oil. There have been a series of protests over blackouts in parts of the country."}],[{"start":181.04999999999998,"text":"Cuban citizens report a mood of despair caused by the economic crisis and sense of political uncertainty. "}],[{"start":187.99999999999997,"text":"“The blackouts are interminable. There is water for one hour a day and sometimes even less,” said Jorge, an artist who works as a nightwatchman in Havana. “The US government has yet to define what it will do, while the ones here won’t let go.”"}],[{"start":204.49999999999997,"text":"The US is looking at other ways to exert leverage on Havana. US media reported on Thursday that the Department of Justice is preparing an indictment against Raúl Castro, who at 94 is still the ultimate authority in Cuban politics."}],[{"start":220.24999999999997,"text":"However, Washington is also offering the carrot of new aid for the beleaguered Cuban economy. On Wednesday, the US said that it was ready to provide $100mn in direct humanitarian assistance to the island nation, to be distributed by the Catholic Church and other independent humanitarian organisations. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":238.89999999999998,"text":"In an interview with Fox News, US secretary of state Marco Rubio was sceptical that Cuba would be able to change course under its current leadership. "}],[{"start":248.84999999999997,"text":"“We’ll give them a chance. But I don’t think it’s going to happen,” he said. “I don’t think we’re going to be able to change the trajectory of Cuba as long as these people are in charge in that regime.” "}],[{"start":260.84999999999997,"text":"Cuba experts said that although the pressure on Havana was intensifying, it was possible the regime would close ranks and try to absorb the economic pain. "}],[{"start":270.2,"text":"“They have a very hard time believing in a future for Cuba where they are not in charge,” said Ricardo Zúniga, a former senior official in the Obama administration, about the Cuban political elite. "}],[{"start":282.7,"text":"There is considerable debate about whether there is a viable military strategy to bring about the sort of political shift that the US achieved in January in Venezuela."}],[{"start":293.25,"text":"“I can sit here and say that I can’t imagine a military operation in Cuba to change the government that would not involve some sort of occupation,” said a former senior US official. “However, I also have to be honest and say that I could not have imagined what happened in Venezuela on the third of January.”"}],[{"start":312.05,"text":"However, some observers believe that military pressure could achieve quick results because of the unpopularity of the regime. "}],[{"start":319.3,"text":"“The people have a tremendous desire for the Americans to take control,” said Emilio Morales, president of Havana Consulting Group in Miami. "}],[{"start":332.7,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1778942471_8646.mp3"}