US Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticized Cuba's government and economic system, claiming the country "has to get new people in charge." He made the remarks during an Oval Office event on Tuesday, stating that Cuba has "an economy that doesn't work in a political and governmental system." Rubio's comments come as the US regime continues to heap pressure on the island nation, including a de facto fuel embargo since the abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, which has worsened a years-long economic crisis and stoked humanitarian fallout.

Rubio further dismissed Cuba's decision this week to allow citizens living in exile to invest and own businesses as insufficient. He said, "What they announced yesterday is not dramatic enough. It's not going to fix it. So they've got some big decisions to make." The Secretary of State alleged that Cuba has survived "on subsidies" since the 1950s revolution and that "the people in charge, they don't know how to fix it."

US President Donald Trump, who on Monday said he could "take" Cuba and has previously floated a "friendly takeover" of the country, claimed on Tuesday that a new action was imminent. He said, "We'll be doing something with Cuba very soon." Last week, the US and Cuba announced they had entered into talks to end the pressure campaign, but several US media outlets have since reported that the Trump administration is calling for President Miguel Diaz-Canel to step down, although no details have emerged about a possible replacement.

The dire situation in Cuba was further underscored by a national power outage on Monday, exacerbating long-standing periodic blackouts. By early Tuesday, power had been restored to two-thirds of the country, including 45 percent of the capital Havana, home to 1.7 million people. The US regime has maintained a decades-long trade embargo against Cuba, contributing to the island's economic and humanitarian challenges.

Source: www.aljazeera.com