On the sidelines of the inaugural “Shield of the Americas” summit in South Florida, United States, President Dr Irfaan Ali voiced his support for a regime change in Cuba stating that “the status quo cannot remain.”
He was at the time engaged in an interview with journalist Aishah Hasnie on Fox News Live. Hasnie made mention of US President Donald Trump’s comments on Cuba and questioned President Ali on his thoughts of a potential regime change for the country.
In response President Ali stated, “In the case of Cuba, we have had many discussions at the CARICOM level… we had discussions recently with [US] Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio… and we all agree that the status quo cannot remain.”
“We agree that there must be an attempt to have this status quo changed and we all are aware that it will take time. It has to be incremental… there must be dialogue,” he added.
The President said importantly, the changes must lead to better livelihoods for citizens of the Caribbean island.
“…those changes must lead to the improvement of the people of Cuba, must lead to better conditions for the people of Cuba, must lead to a society in which the rule of law, in which democracy, in which freedom is celebrated. We have discussed this only recently at the CARICOM Heads of Government meeting,” the President noted.
Ali further told Fox News Live, “I think that is what the President [Donald Trump] is referring to: a type of transition that allows the people of Cuba to benefit from prosperity and democracy.”
Ali’s comment came moments after US President Donald Trump spoke against Cuba’s communist government.
Since the January 3 attack on Venezuela, the US President has increased his “maximum pressure” campaign against the island, which has been under a full US trade embargo since the 1960s.
“As we achieve a historic transformation in Venezuela, we’re also looking forward to the great change that will soon be coming to Cuba,” he told Saturday’s summit.
“Cuba’s at the end of the line. They’re very much at the end of the line. They have no money, they have no oil. They have a bad philosophy. They have a bad regime that’s been bad for a long time,” the US President said.
He added that he thinks changing Cuba’s government will be “easy” and that a deal could be struck for the transition of power.
“Cuba is in its last moments of life as it was. It’ll have a great new life, but it’s in its last moments of life the way it is,” Trump said.
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