Trump keeps Cubans guessing after press conference
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail Xinhua, January 12, 2017
Cubans termed the first press conference by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday as "evasive, ambiguous and contradictory."
For thoese who were interviewed by Xinhua about the future Cuban-American relations said the press conference let them feel perplexed.
"What seems obvious is that Cuba is not an immediate priority for Trump. Given the unknown decisions he will take concerning our country, the process of normalization of ties will either advance or regress, which is concerning," said Tania Orozco, a state worker.
"The visit of President Barack Obama in March 2016 was an important step which drove the signing of a series of agreements which open the way for future agreements," she added.
Ibrahim Navarro, a retiree living in Havana, said Russia seemed to be the "great focus" of the conference as one of the few foreign policy issues Trump addressed.
"In the end, I think nobody really knows if Russia had something to do with Trump's election. It is also unclear if he intends to establish good relations with (President Vladimir) Putin or intimidate him into respecting the U.S.," said Navarro.
For Navarro, the U.S. president-elect dodged questions from the press concerning the alleged hacking by Moscow of the Amerrican election, which may have helped Trump win the Nov. 8 election.
"What also caught my attention was his inflexibility and authoritarianism in building a wall along the Mexican border. He said that this country has abused the U.S., when all know it is the exact reverse," pointed out Orozco.
In this regard, Trump said he would not wait for negotiations with the Mexican government to define the budget for the wall, saying that its construction would begin and that options to make Mexico pay for it would come later.
Also on Wednesday, Trump's nominee for Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, appeared in front of the Senate for his confirmation hearings. Referring to Cuba, Tillerson said he would recommend Trump veto any legislation proposed by President Obama to make the rapprochement between the two sides inevitable.
The former head of oil giant, ExxonMobil, revealed that Trump would likely revise relations with Havana through an executive order, shortly after assuming office.
Furthermore, Tillerson said that a proposal to lift the ban on Americans travelling to Cuba, proposed by Obama, would not be rapidly approved.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)