Trump: Aircraft carriers were "in no way" sent to intimidate Cuba

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, ruled out this Thursday (21) that the arrival of an American aircraft carrier in the Caribbean was intended to intimidate Cuba amid the increase in tensions between Washington and Havana.

"Not at all," Trump said when asked if sending the USS Nimitz strike group was a warning to Cuba.

"Cuba, you see, is a failed country," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office of the White House.

"They have no electricity, they have no money, they have practically nothing, they have no food. And we are going to help them," Trump said, adding: "Because, first of all, I want to help them."

The US Armed Forces announced on Wednesday the arrival of the Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group in the Caribbean. In addition to the aircraft carrier with the aircraft, the deployment includes at least one destroyer equipped with guided missiles.

Also on Wednesday, the Trump administration's Department of Justice filed criminal charges against former Cuban President Raúl Castro.

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The charges relate to the downing of two civilian planes belonging to the Cuban-American exile group Brothers to the Rescue in 1996.

The Justice Department's action raised concerns about a military operation in Cuba, similar to the one carried out in Venezuela to arrest dictator Nicolás Maduro. Maduro is currently detained in New York on drug trafficking charges.

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Source: CNN