Khaberni - The website «Axios» revealed that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is conducting secret talks with the grandson of Cuban leader Raúl Castro, at a time when the United States is exerting pressure on Cuba.
Discussions about the future
According to three sources who spoke to the website, these talks between Rubio and Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, bypass the official Cuban government channels, and show that the administration of President Donald Trump views the 94-year-old revolutionary leader as «still the real decision-maker on the communist island».
Rubio did not speak with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, or with other senior officials, as Washington sees them as «bureaucratic partisans», unable to envision or negotiate real change.
A senior Trump administration official said: «I don't describe these talks with Castro's grandson as negotiations as much as they are discussions about the future.
The regime must go
According to the sources, Rubio and his team believe that the 41-year-old grandson and his circle represent a segment of younger Cubans with a more open-minded mindset, who see that revolutionary communism has failed, and believe there is value in rapprochement with the United States.
The official added that «the U.S. government's stance is that the regime must go. However, the exact form that this will take is up to President Trump, and he has not yet decided. Rubio continues to hold talks with the grandson».
American crises and blockade
«Axios» reported that after 67 years of U.S. sanctions and mismanagement in Cuba, it seems that the totalitarian government is closer than ever to collapsing, as the country stands on the brink of a humanitarian crisis. It also noted that the electricity grid is failing, hospitals are scaling down surgeries, while there's an increasing shortage of food and fuel, tourism is declining, and garbage is piling up in the streets.
Crisis in Cuba intensified after Trump ordered a raid on January 3 that led to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who had been supplying Cuba with «nearly free oil». On January 29, Trump also threatened to impose sanctions on Mexico, the other major oil supplier to Cuba.
Sources mentioned that before the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Rubio and other officials and advisors in the Trump administration had been in contact with Venezuelan elites, similarly to what is now happening with Cuba.
A source familiar with the talks revealed: «They are looking for the Cuban (Delcy)», referring to the cooperation of Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez with the Trump administration.
