Are America and Cuba seeing renewed escalations, what is behind the current row?
Cuba's recent outcry comes as the US looks to weigh in on additional actions against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The Trump administration has repeatedly accused Venezuela of smuggling drugs into the US and has increased its military presence in the Caribbean as a result. Something that has not gone down well with Cuba.
New Delhi: Relations between Cuba and the United States seem to be heading for the worse again. This comes after Cuba accused the US of pushing towards the violent removal of Venezuela’s leadership. It further warned that the continued deployment of US military forces in the Caribbean represents an "exaggerated and aggressive” threat to the region’s stability.
"We appeal to the people of the United States to stop this madness”, Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said on Tuesday. Further adding that, "the US government could cause an incalculable number of deaths and create a scenario of violence and instability in the hemisphere that would be unimaginable.”
Historical conflict to continue?
The Cuban outcry comes as the US looks to weigh in on additional actions against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The Trump administration has repeatedly accused Venezuela of smuggling drugs into the US.
As a result of which, they have bombed 21 boats in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, killing at least 83 people, over the past two months. The US has claimed that the targeted boats were involved in drug trafficking, while not giving proof of such drug charges till now.
As a result of these recent actions, the US military’s footprint in the Caribbean is the largest it has been in decades. Reportedly around 15,000 US personnels are now stationed in the surrounding region. On Saturday, news publication Reuters, citing four US officials, said that the US was preparing to enter a new phase of operations related to Venezuela. Two of those officials did not overrule a chance of overthrowing the Maduro government.
This is worrying news for Venezuela as only last month, US President Donald Trump authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations in the country. These actions have not gone down well with Cuba, which has now reacted sharply to these recent developments.
It has argued that the accumulation and increase of military activity in the Caribbean Sea by the US, as well as the unjustified interdiction and detention of a vessel are in violation of international regulations. It has also accused the US government of psychological warfare as it tries to legitimise such actions under the pretext that Venezuela represents a threat to US national security.
Cuba has thus in response called for an international mobilisation to prevent an aggression and preserve Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, as was proclaimed by its Heads of State and Government.