Cuba is ready to negotiate with the US, ambassador tells the New York Times

Cuba is willing to negotiate with the United States and could make changes to its economy and government, said the country's ambassador to the UN, Ernesto Soberón Guzmán.

"Cuba is willing to talk about everything with the United States. There is no taboo subject in our conversations - based on reciprocity and equality", said the diplomat in an interview with the American newspaper NYT (The New York Times) on Wednesday (20).

In any case, Guzmán did not give details about what changes the Cuban government would be open to making and warned that they do not believe that the White House is participating in conversations in "good faith".

He highlighted that the US' "warmongering rhetoric" does not help in resuming dialogue, accusing Donald Trump's administration of creating different pretexts for military aggression against the Caribbean island.

The statements were made on the same day that the United States revealed accusations against Raúl Castro, former president and important figure in the Cuban Revolution.

The former Caribbean leader was accused of conspiracy to kill American citizens, destruction of an aircraft and murder due to the shooting down of civilian planes by Cuban jets in 1996. At the time, Castro was Minister of Defense.

Also this week, the US government applied sanctions against Cuban officials, including three ministers and several military leaders. The country's intelligence directorate, the National Revolutionary Police and the Ministry of the Interior were also targeted by the measure.

US support and cooperation
During the interview with the NYT, the Cuban ambassador also addressed the aid offered by the United States of US$100 million (equivalent to around R$500 million).

Guzmán stated that Cuba plans to accept the amount, but also considered the offer an "insult".

The Caribbean country faces serious energy problems and blackouts, directly impacting the economy. The diplomat blamed the US-imposed trade embargo and oil blockade for many of the island's economic problems.

According to the American newspaper, Cuba has exhausted its fuel reserves and is supporting its electrical grid exclusively with domestically produced oil and renewable energy.

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Still, Ernesto Guzmán pointed out that there are several areas in which Cuba and the USA could cooperate, such as immigration, tourism, agriculture, medicine production and the fight against drug trafficking.

On the other hand, he stated that Cuba will not receive "lessons" from the US about democracy, criticizing several aspects of the American electoral system. "Is this the democracy they want for Cuba? We don't care," he told the NYT.

At another point, the Cuban ambassador claimed that the White House maintains positive relations with several nations that, in his words, do not have democratic systems.

"So democracy in Cuba is not why the United States is exerting pressure," he concluded.

Cuban Ambassador criticizes Marco Rubio
On Wednesday, Marco Rubio, Secretary of State of the United States, released a video accusing the Cuban government of enriching itself at the expense of the people and being responsible for the shortages of electricity, food and fuel.

Ambassador Ernesto Guzmán countered Rubio's statement, assessing that they were "for anyone who has a minimum of common sense, an insult to human intelligence."

Blackout and oil blockade: What is happening in Cuba?

Source: CNN