Cuba poses a “national security threat” to the US and the likelihood of a peaceful agreement is “not high”, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said.
His comments come just a day after the US charged Cuba’s former president Raúl Castro with murder over the 1996 downing of two planes resulting in the killing of US nationals.
Rubio said Washington’s preference was “a diplomatic solution” but warned that President Donald Trump had the right and obligation to protect his country against any threat.
Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez accused Rubio of “lies” and said the island had never posed a threat to the US.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Rubio said diplomacy “remains our preference with Cuba”, but added: “I’m just being honest with you, you know, the likelihood of that happening, given who we’re dealing with right now, is not high.”
