Cuba a ‘failed’ nation: Trump

President Donald Trump on Monday said Cuba was a “failed nation” and called on Havana to make a deal with the United States, though he dismissed mounting a regime change operation.

“Cuba is right now, a failed nation,” the US leader told reporters aboard Air Force One. However, when asked if the United States would oust Cuba’s government, as Washington did when it raided Venezuela and captured president Nicolas Maduro, Trump said: “I don’t think that will be necessary.”

The island is facing major fuel shortages and blackouts as Trump intensifies the decades-long US embargo on the country and presses other countries to stop sending Havana oil, reports AFP.

“It’s a humanitarian threat,” Trump admitted of the fuel shortages biting the country.

Garbage has begun to pile up on street corners in the Cuban capital of Havana, attracting hordes of flies and reeking of rotten food, in one of the most visible impacts of the US bid to prevent oil from reaching the Caribbean’s largest island.

State-run news outlet Cubadebate reported this month that only 44 of Havana’s 106 rubbish trucks were able to keep operating due to fuel shortages, slowing garbage collection.

Cardboard boxes, used bags, plastic bottles and rags have piled up on street corners across the capital, as some residents sorted through the waste looking for scraps they could re-use, while motorists, pedestrians and bikers are forced to circumvent the imposing heaps.