US President Donald Trump says he expects to have “the honour of taking Cuba” in remarks he made as the island grappled with a nationwide power outage that plunged millions into darkness.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, Trump suggested the United States could play a decisive role in Cuba’s future.
“You know, all my life I’ve been hearing about the United States and Cuba. When will the United States do it?” Trump told reporters.
“I do believe I’ll be … having the honour of taking Cuba,” he added. “Whether I free it, take it – think I could do anything I want with it. You want to know the truth. They’re a very weakened nation right now.”
The comments came as Cuba faced another major blackout, following the collapse of its electricity grid on Monday.
It was the latest in a series of widespread power outages in a country where ageing electricity infrastructure and chronic fuel shortages have strained the energy system. The situation has also been worsened by restrictions on oil shipments to the territory.
A Saint Lucian student currently studying in Cuba told St. Lucia Times that while the country did experience a “total blackout”, electricity was restored later the same evening at around 9:00 p.m.
The student added that outages are not unusual, noting that electricity can be cut for six to seven hours on a typical day.
Regional leaders have also acknowledged the growing humanitarian challenges facing Cuba.
In a statement issued on February 27 following a CARICOM summit in St Kitts and Nevis, the regional body said it would begin preparing a coordinated humanitarian response to support Cuba.
CARICOM indicated that a detailed plan would be “finalised shortly.” However, no further public update on those efforts has been announced since that time.
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