.png)
By Prince Moore and Nakinskie Robinson
One security analyst believes the pressure being placed on Cuba by the United States could lead to a mass movement of refugees to Jamaica and other Caribbean countries.
Cubans are hustling to become more self-sufficient as the U.S. Government tightens its economic noose over the Communist-run island, in a move experts say is meant to force a popular uprising and usher in a new government.
Dr. Sanjay Badri Maharaj, a defence and security analyst, says the US is seeking to force a collapse of the Cuban Government which could lead to mass chaos in the region.
"Once you have a regime collapse, you have the potential for very very serious consequences," he warned, adding that "the region needs to be very concerned because nobody is going to come to Cuba's aid, except in very basic humanitarian terms, from anywhere else.
Dr Maharaj, speaking Friday on Radio Jamaica's Beyond the Headlines, also expressed concern about the likelihood of Cuban weapons being taken over by militia groups which could end up on the streets in other Caribbean countries if the Cuban government collapses.
"You have the added complication of tens of millions of weapons in Cuba... The region has never seen the kind of equipment that is in Cuban storage," he stressed, pointing therefore to a scenario of "mass chaos in Cuba; you could see some armed groups degenerating into full-fledged armed militias and gangs, some of that being exported, some of them hiring themselves out as mercenaries; you could see refugees coming to Jamaica, to Dominican Republic... to Miami."
Tariff Threat
Trump signed an Executive Order on Thursday, threatening to impose tariffs on any country that sells or supplies oil to Cuba.
With the US now controlling Venezuela's oil, the Americans have cut supplies to the Caribbean Island, which is situated just 90 miles from Jamaica. At the same time Mexico has cancelled a shipment of oil to Cuba with the country's president, Claudia Sheinbaum insisting the decision was "sovereign" and not a response to pressure from the US.
But President Sheinbaum warned that Donald Trump's move to slap new tariffs on countries sending oil to Cuba could trigger a humanitarian crisis on the island, which is already suffering from chronic fuel shortages and regular blackouts.
Since then, Cuba has been hit every day with widespread power cuts blamed on fuel shortages and crumbling infrastructure that have deepened an economic crisis worsened by a fall in tourism, and tough U.S. sanctions.
After Trump made the announcement late Thursday, he described Cuba as a failing nation that may not survive.
In response, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on X said Trump's measure was fascist, criminal and genocidal.
comments powered by Disqus
All feeds
