WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Recent and the are a 鈥減retext鈥� for the Trump administration to persuade the American people to support a military intervention, Cuba鈥檚 top diplomat to the United States told The Associated Press.
In an interview on Tuesday, Ambassador Lianys Torres Rivera repeated accusations against the Trump administration made by other Cuban officials, including the foreign minister and the president, and complained bitterly that the U.S. is targeting Cuban civilians with and new to the island.
鈥淭he sanctions against our leaders, we see as a pretext to make the American people think we are a threat,鈥� she said at Cuba’s embassy in Washington. 鈥淲e are not a threat to the U.S., and we don鈥檛 want confrontation.鈥�
Torres Rivera, who holds the formal title of charg茅 d鈥檃ffaires, described the situation as 鈥渁 war without bombs.鈥� She said by coercion or force .
鈥淩a煤l is sacred,鈥� she said of the indictment by a federal grand jury last month of Castro. The 95-year-old former president faces conspiracy and murder charges related to the 1996 shootdown of two unarmed civilian planes operated by the while he was serving as Cuba鈥檚 defense minister.
鈥淩a煤l is a sacred symbol of the revolution, and we will defend Ra煤l 鈥� as we will the country 鈥� until the end,鈥� Torres Rivera said. 鈥淚f we are attacked, we are going to respond, and we are prepared for that. But we don鈥檛 want it.鈥�
Her comments reflect a belief among many Cubans and Cuba analysts that the charges against Castro and the sanctions imposed on others in the socialist government’s leadership are as a reason for in January that .
On Thursday, the same day the U.S. Treasury Department leveled sanctions on Cuban President Miguel D铆az-Canel, Castro鈥檚 son and grandson, along with others, U.S. President Donald Trump said of Cuba: 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to handle that as soon as we鈥檝e finished鈥� .
Trump has been threatening military action in Cuba ever since ousting Maduro and then ordering an energy blockade that choked off fuel shipments to Cuba. That has led to , and an economic collapse across the island.
Torres Rivera said the moves by the Trump administration to tighten the screws on Cuba鈥檚 already faltering economy have resulted in untold misery for with power cuts of up to 20 hours a day and exorbitant costs for gasoline, kerosene and everyday goods, including food and medicine.
鈥淲hat is happening now is tough,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t is heartbreaking.鈥�
Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other administration officials have repeatedly denied that Cuba鈥檚 economic strife is America鈥檚 fault and repeatedly . They have not ruled out military action against the island but have said they are to make reforms.
Torres Rivera said that recent in Havana and elsewhere have been 鈥減rofessional and respectful.鈥� But she said that Cuba is not willing to change unless reforms are made from within and not under duress.
A former Cuban ambassador to Vietnam, another socialist country with which Cuba has long-standing ties, she noted that Washington and Hanoi have forged a positive relationship over the past four decades, but only because the Vietnamese enacted reforms at their own pace. The same should be permitted for Cuba, she said.
鈥淲e want to make sure that the only changes to the system are done by us,鈥� she said.
Rubio, however, has said Cuba poses a serious national security threat to America because of its security and intelligence ties with China and Russia and friendly relations with U.S. foes in Latin America.
鈥淚 really don鈥檛 believe this system is capable of reform unless new people take over or a new mindset takes hold,鈥� at a congressional hearing last week.
The State Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the Cuban ambassador’s comments.
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