U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the fall of the Cuban regime would be 'the cherry on the cake' during an interview with the digital outlet Politico, where he added that his Administration is in contact with the Cuban government. During the interview, Trump was questioned if his government is playing a role in the fall of the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel in Cuba, and the Republican replied: 'What do you think?'. 'For 50 years, that (the overthrow of Cuban authorities) has been the cherry on the cake'. The head of state subsequently referred to Venezuela, where an operation he ordered deposed Nicolás Maduro on January 3, and said that the new interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, to whom Trump has been in charge of the transition in the Caribbean country, is 'doing a fantastic job'. 'We are talking to Cuba,' Trump emphasized and suggested that the worsening of the situation on the island is partly due to the pressure his country has applied, including a cut in oil supplies from Venezuela to the island. 'Well, it's thanks to my intervention, and there is an intervention,' Trump said in reference to the effect that the fall of Maduro has had on the island, which has lost the crucial Venezuelan oil supply for its day-to-day life. The last few weeks have been marked by exclusive reports in U.S. media such as Axios or Miami Herald about contacts between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and a grandson of former Cuban President Raúl Castro, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro. These reports speak of more contacts than negotiations, and point to alleged conversations about possible future gradual economic reforms on the island and a phased withdrawal of Washington sanctions.
