Trump Admin. maintains “maximum pressure” on Cuba

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Since the beginning of the year, the Trump Administration has implemented what it calls a “maximum pressure” campaign on Cuba. That effort effectively blocks all oil shipments to the Communist-ruled island, and it’s leading to a severe energy crisis.

In the White House Briefing Room Tuesday, Gray Media’s White House correspondent Jon Decker asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to provide more clarity on the Administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign.

White House Correspondent Jon Decker:

“And my second question has to do with the fuel embargo of Cuba. How long, Mr. Secretary, will that last?”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio:

“There’s no oil blockade on Cuba, per se. Here’s what’s happening with Cuba. Okay. Cuba used to get free oil from Venezuela, used to give them a bunch of free oil. They would take like 60% of that oil and resell it for cash. It wouldn’t even go to benefit the people. So the only blockade that’s happened is the Cubans have decided, I mean, the Venezuelans have decided we’re not giving you free oil anymore. And you can only imagine nowadays the way oil prices are. No one’s giving away free oil, much less to a failed regime. So the problem of Cuba is worse. Okay. Their economic model doesn’t work. It doesn’t work. And the people who are in charge can’t fix it. And the reasons I can’t fix it. It’s not just because they’re communist that’s bad enough, but they’re incompetent communists. The only thing worse than a communist is an incompetent one. And that’s what’s so an incompetent communist run that country. They don’t know how to fix it. They really don’t.”

The White House is continuing to set up the pressure on Havana. Just last week President Trump signed a new executive order authorizing further sanctions - targeting Cuba’s energy, defense, and mining sectors.