Top Cuban official accuses US of trying to provoke conflict

WASHINGTON - A visiting senior Cuban official on Tuesday (June 3) accused the Trump administration of ratcheting up tensions between Washington and Havana and expressed concerns that the US was trying to provoke a military confrontation.

Speaking to reporters at the Cuban Embassy in Washington, Johana Tablada, deputy director for US affairs in Cuba's foreign ministry, said an armed clash between the two old Cold War rivals was "not a good idea" and that the Cuban government was trying to ease the situation but that the US appeared determined to further damage relations.

Tablada said new Trump administration measures targeting Communist-ruled Cuba intend to rupture relations "to create conditions, in my opinion, for, if necessary, a military confrontation."

Republican US President Donald Trump and his top officials have taken a hardline approach to Cuba since he took office in January, returning longtime foe Cuba to a US list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, tightening rules on remittances, and shutting off migration programs that allowed some Cubans to work in the US legally.

Trump officials have not publicly threatened any military action.

A State Department spokesperson said the Trump administration had "no indication" that the Cuban government was ready for a "meaningful" dialogue with the US

"We call on the regime to release the American citizens, return US fugitives, and free the hundreds of Cuban political prisoners who remain imprisoned and used as bargaining chips," the spokesperson said in a statement.

US Chief of Mission Mike Hammer - the top US diplomat in Havana - has travelled the island widely in recent months to meet with political dissidents, raising the ire of the Cuban government, which accuses him of seeking to foment unrest.

Cuba's foreign ministry last week issued a verbal warning to Hammer, saying he had incited "Cuban citizens to commit serious criminal acts, attack the constitutional order, or encourage them to act against the authorities," calling his actions a violation of the Vienna Convention norms on diplomatic relations.

Tablada accused Hammer of channeling US humanitarian funds to undermine the Cuban government and said Cuban diplomats would not be allowed to engage in similar behaviour in the US

"To push both countries into scenarios of confrontation and collision is not a good idea," she said.

Just days before Trump took office in January former President Joe Biden's administration removed Cuba from its terrorism blacklist, effectively reversing sanctions from Trump's first term.

After returning to office, Trump quickly returned Cuba to the blacklist and also reinstated many of the restrictions on trade and travel that Biden had eased.

Source: Reuters