US Proposes $100M Aid to Cuba to Induce Reforms, to be Distributed by Charities

(CNA, Washington, 19th, Comprehensive Foreign Report) US officials stated today that the United States and Cuba held talks this week on a US proposal to provide $100 million (approximately NT$3.2 billion) in aid, a sum that Washington views as an incentive to promote reforms in Cuba. Agence France-Presse reports that a State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that the acting US Ambassador in Havana, Mike Hammer, had met with Cuban Foreign Ministry officials yesterday. The official said, "We have been in close coordination with the Cubans. We had a meeting yesterday and continue to actively push this proposal, contrary to some of the lies from the Cuban Foreign Ministry." He added, "We continue to urge the [Cuban] regime to accept this proposal and to try to prevent any interference with the delivery of aid supplies." He stated that the aid would be distributed through Catholic Relief Services and the evangelical Protestant charity Samaritan's Purse, and would not be given directly to the Cuban government. He said, "The Cuban regime is sitting on billions of dollars... We urge them to use that money to actually help the Cuban people and invest in infrastructure, instead of hoarding the funds." US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a staunch opponent of the communist government in Havana, publicly proposed the $100 million aid but also demanded that Cuba must take steps to open up the country. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said last week that Havana was open to reviewing the aid proposal. He had previously accused Rubio of lying about the proposal. Cuba has been in the throes of a major economic crisis, accompanied by persistent power outages, after the US unseated Venezuelan leftist leader Nicolas Maduro and terminated the exchange where Caracas provided free oil in return for Cuban medical expertise and other services. As the situation becomes increasingly dire, Cuba, which has been a target of US espionage for decades, took the unusual step last week of welcoming CIA Director John Ratcliffe for talks.