(AFP) – Outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro, visiting Havana, called for efforts to prevent a US invasion of Cuba and urged President Donald Trump to engage in dialogue, according to remarks published Saturday by Cuban media. Trump, who has made no secret of his desire for regime change in Cuba, says the communist island located 150 kilometers (90 miles) off Florida’s coast represents an “extraordinary threat” to US national security and has even said Washington could be “taking Cuba.”
“I came to call on humanity to show solidarity with Cuba, so that there is no invasion here or missile strike, and to propose dialogue as an alternative, including to the current US government, to (Secretary of State Marco) Rubio and Trump,” said Petro. The Colombian leader arrived in Cuba on Friday for an official visit before his term ends next week. The Cubadebate news website said Petro, the first leftist president in Colombia’s history, spoke to Cuban media late Friday after he was welcomed with military honors by his counterpart Miguel Diaz-Canel at the Palace of the Revolution, where the two held official talks.
“It would be good if, amid the danger looming over Cuba, it could be transformed from a danger into a setting for that dialogue,” added Petro, a close ally of Havana and a critic of Trump’s maximum-pressure policy toward the island. “Now is the time for dialogue,” stressed Petro, who concludes his visit on Saturday.
Relations between Havana and the United States have deteriorated since January, following Washington’s imposition of an effective oil blockade and other sanctions which have worsened economic conditions, led to major shortages, and contributed to widespread power outages. Despite this, representatives of the two countries have held talks, but the Cuban government said there had been no progress.
Petro’s successor, far-right politician Abelardo de la Espriella, who will take office on August 7, announced last Sunday that he would sever diplomatic relations with Cuba and Nicaragua, countries he described as “tyrannies.” The Cuban government said De la Espriella’s announcement amounted to “clear subordination” to the United States. Havana hosted the peace talks that led to the 2016 peace agreement with the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group.
© 2024 AFP
