Trump says U.S. warships returning from Iran could stop near Cuba
International AffairsWell-coveredThe Facts
- Trump raised possible U.S. action toward Cuba at a campaign rally in Fort Myers, Florida.
- Trump said U.S. warships returning from Iran could stop near Cuba.
- Trump said Rubio would be sent to conclude a deal involving Cuba.
- Trump had raised the idea of action toward Cuba earlier this year.
- Rubio urged Cubans seeking political change to form a discreet partnership with the CIA.
- Cuban officials rejected U.S. threats and alleged U.S. ambitions to dominate Cuba.
Context
What did Trump propose regarding Cuba?
Trump described U.S. warships returning from Iran stopping near Cuba, followed by Rubio being sent to finish a deal. Hindu,Times of India,infobae
What did Rubio say?
Rubio wrote that people seeking positive change in Cuba should seize the opportunity for a discreet partnership with the CIA; he gave no operational details. Guardian,Fox News,MoneyControl
How did Cuba respond?
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez rejected U.S. threats and criticized what they described as U.S. ambitions toward the island. Московский …,infobae
Where Left and Right agree
Left and right largely agree on this one.
- What both sides accept
- Both reject the rally-floated Cuba action: warships should stand down and Rubio's 'deal' shouldn't proceed on these terms.
- Where Left and Right differ in emphasis
- The left and the right both say stand down the ships near Cuba — they part on what the push reveals.
How left and right read it
The people who pay for another war are not in the room when it gets floated from a rally stage. Warships near Cuba, a deal for Rubio to conclude, and a call for Cubans to partner discreetly with the CIA add up to coercion, not diplomacy — and Cuban officials are right to name the ambition behind it. Talk to Havana; don't threaten it.
“He was campaigning just days before midterm elections in which voters have expressed concern about the impact the US war on Iran has had on prices of goods from gas to groceries.” — The Guardian
Committing American forces is the gravest decision this government makes, so the burden falls on whoever proposes it to justify the war first — not on the public to talk him out of it. Yet warships returning from Iran were floated for a stop near Cuba, with Rubio sent to close a deal. That is not a case; it is an improvisation. Bring the ships home.
“President Donald Trump told a Florida crowd Friday that a U.S. warship could force Cuba's communist government to surrender after Iran, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent to "finish up the deal."” — Breitbart
The ships should stand down for two different reasons: the left calls the Cuba pitch coercion, the right calls it an unjustified case for war.
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Wire services (7)
Independent coverage (93)
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