WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States began ratcheting up pressure on communist-controlled Cuba after the military action in Venezuela early this year resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro. The Justice Department is preparing to seek an indictment of former Cuban leader Raúl Castro. A criminal charge against Castro would have to be approved by a grand jury and could escalate tensions with Havana. It would come amid rising tensions this year between President Donald Trump’s administration and Cuba’s government. Meanwhile, the U.S. is in the midst of an uneasy ceasefire in the U.S. war against Iran.Here’s a closer look at developments over the year between Cuba and the U.S. Jan. 4A day after the operation in Venezuela that captured Maduro, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared Cuba’s government was “in a lot of trouble,” as the president renewed calls for an American takeover of the Danish territory of Greenland.
Jan. 11 Trump fired off a warning to the government of Cuba as the close ally of Venezuela braced for potential unrest after Maduro was deposed. Trump called for the Cuban government “to make a deal BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” Cuba’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, responded, “Those who turn everything into a business, even human lives, have no moral authority to point the finger at Cuba in any way, absolutely in any way.”
