MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Saturday, May 16th 2026 - 03:45 UTC
“I think we are going to turn it around,” Trump replied when asked about the possibility of Cuba leaning toward the United States
US President Donald Trump on Friday said his administration will bring the Cuban government to align with Washington and pull away from the orbit of China and Russia, in his first public comments on the island since the unprecedented visit by CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Havana on Thursday. The remarks, delivered during an interview with journalist Bret Baier on Fox News, come in a week marked by contradictory US gestures toward the Cuban regime: the humanitarian offer of USD 100 million accepted by Havana, the judicial pressure on former president Raúl Castro, and the opening of a direct channel between US and Cuban intelligence services.
“I think we are going to turn it around,” Trump replied when asked about the possibility of Cuba leaning toward the United States and distancing itself from Beijing. The president praised the role of Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the Cuban dossier and said he was confident in limiting the influence of global rivals on the island. The remarks come hours after Trump returned from his state visit to Beijing, where he addressed with Xi Jinping a broad agenda that included Iran, Ukraine, and the Korean Peninsula.
