Cuban President Raul Castro on Friday denounced U.S. President Donald Trump’s partial rollback of the U.S.-Cuban detente, saying it ignored broad public support for better relations and would satisfy only a few Cuban-American hard-liners.
In his first public riposte to Trump since the latter unveiled his new Cuba policy last month, Castro told the national assembly that any attempt to topple the revolution would fail, as it had under 11 previous U.S. presidents.
Trump said last month he was cancelling former President Barack Obama’s “terrible and misguided deal” with Communist-run Cuba. In reality, he left in place many of Obama’s changes, including the reopened U.S. embassy in Havana.Cuban President Raul Castro said, “The U.S. government has decided to tighten the blockade by imposing new obstacles on its business to trade and invest in Cuba and additional restrictions on its citizens to travel to our country, justifying these measures with old and hostile rhetoric.”
“Cuba and the United States can cooperate and coexist, respecting differences by promoting everything that benefits both countries and peoples, but it should not be expected that Cuba will have to make concessions inherent in its sovereignty and independence.” He stated.
But he ordered tighter restrictions on Americans travelling to Cuba and a clampdown on U.S. business dealings with the military in the Caribbean island.
Castro said Cuba remained open to negotiating matters of bilateral interest with the United States, sticking to the relatively conciliatory tone it has struck of later
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