The president of the United States, Donald Trump, has stated that he would have the “honor” of “taking” and “liberating” Cuba, in statements in which he raises the possibility of acting on the island without respecting the norms of international law. “I believe I would have the honor of taking it and liberating it,” he said.
Trump has gone further by assuring that the United States has the capacity to intervene without restrictions, stating that “I can do whatever I want with it,” in reference to Cuba. These words have been interpreted as a threat of intervention and have generated criticism for their tone and their fit with the international legal framework.
The former president has defended that an eventual action would be justified in political and strategic terms, in line with his usual discourse on Latin America and the regimes he considers adversaries of Washington.
Trump also referred to the Cuban people, assuring that his intention would be to act in their benefit and presenting his proposal as a way to “help” the island's population, whom he described as in need of political change.
