Agency official says economic engagement with Cuba requires political change, rejects deal that preserves the Castro regime
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Summary
During a press briefing after G7 meetings, an agency official said the United States will not accept an economic deal that leaves the Castro family in power and argued Cuba needs political and economic reform together to attract investment.
A senior agency official told reporters that the United States is not seeking an economic deal that would leave the Castro family or Cuba's current governing system intact. When asked whether the administration might accept a deal that preserved the Castro family while improving the economy, the official replied bluntly: "No. We don't need an economic deal."
The official said Cuba's economic problems stem from a system that "doesn't work," citing long-standing infrastructure failings and intermittent blackouts that he attributed to outdated equipment dating to the 1950s and 1960s. "The reason why they're having blackouts is because they have equipment from the 19 fifties and sixties that they never maintained or kept up," he said.
He argued that meaningful economic development in Cuba requires political change. "Who’s gonna invest billions of dollars in a communist country run by incompetent communists?" he asked rhetorically, adding that both economic and political freedoms are necessary and come "hand in hand."
The official said Cuba was discussed in G7 meetings but offered no new policy announcements or timelines in the briefing. He characterized reporting that suggested the U.S. might accept only an economic deal as inaccurate and said U.S. sources reporting otherwise were wrong.
