Washington/The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, downplayed this Tuesday the fact that he was photographed with the leader of the US Southern Command in front of a map of Cuba and the apparent possibility that Washington is preparing an imminent military offensive against the Island.
“Cuba is within the Southern Command. You know, it is the closest part,” Rubio said in an unusual press conference at the White House, in which he explained that the decision to take a picture of himself with the map of Cuba during his visit to the military command headquarters was simply because there was one in the room where the snapshot was taken.
The Southern Command is one of the ten unified combat commands and its area of influence includes all Latin American countries, with the exception of Mexico.
“Coincidentally, there was a map of Cuba, and I commented: it would be a good idea for us to take a photo in front of that map, since it is the closest thing to the United States that there is within the Southern Command”
Today the Secretary of State visited the main facilities of this command, located in Miami, his hometown. “On my second visit there, our chiefs of mission from across the Western Hemisphere were present. I was addressing them, and at that moment, I met the general who had just assumed command of Southern Command,” he explained.
“Coincidentally, there was a map of Cuba, and I commented: it would be a good idea for us to take a photo in front of that map, since it is the closest thing to the United States that there is within the Southern Command,” added the head of US diplomacy.
Marco Rubio himself, grandson of Cubans, has been one of the main defenders of Washington applying a tough hand on the Government of Miguel Díaz-Canel. This includes the oil blockade that the Trump Administration has applied on the Island since January after the Pentagon captured former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and cut off the flow of crude oil arriving to the Island from Caracas.
At the same press conference, Rubio stated that he wants to speak with Pope Leo XIV about the possibility of Washington providing more humanitarian aid to Cuba and having it distributed by the Church, but he stressed that the Cuban authorities must allow the operation.
The head of US diplomacy explained that the trip to the Vatican will serve to address the possibility of expanding cooperation with the Church to channel assistance to the Island.
Rubio insisted that the United States has already tried to send aid but faces obstacles from Havana
Likewise, he insisted that the United States has already tried to send aid but faces obstacles from Havana, and recalled that in February the White House sent 6 million dollars that would be distributed through Cáritas. “We are willing to give more humanitarian aid to Cuba (…) but the Cuban regime has to allow us to do so,” said the Secretary of State.
Rubio added that his agenda with the Holy See, which begins this Thursday, will also include broader topics, such as the defense of religious freedom at a global level. “We have shared concerns about religious freedom, we would like to talk to them about that,” said Marco Rubio, highlighting the coincidence of interests between Washington and the Vatican in that area.
In that sense, Rubio commented on the recent trip of Leo
In the midst of the recent controversy, Rubio downplayed the tensions between the president, Donald Trump, and Leo XIV, and denied that the president had directly accused the pontiff. Since January, the United States imposed an oil blockade as a measure of pressure against the Government of Miguel Díaz-Canel, and last week Trump threatened to take control of Cuba immediately after ending the war in Iran.
