U.S has renewed the threat of military intervention in Cuba.

President Donald Trump said to reporters when asked about Cuba during an environmental event in the Oval Office, that previous U.S. Presidents have considered intervening in Cuba for decades but that “it looks like I’ll be the one that does it.”

“Other Presidents have looked at this for 50, 60 years, doing something and, it looks like I’ll be the one that does it. So, I would be happy to do it.”
Donald Trump

U.S Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters separately that Cuba poses a serious national security threat to America because of its security and intelligence ties with China and Russia and friendly relations with U.S. foes in Latin America and that Trump is intent on addressing it.

New threats follow after the administration announced criminal charges against the island’s former leader, Raúl Castro. Federal prosecutors on Wednesday unveiled an indictment that accuses Castro of ordering the shootdown in 1996 of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles.

The charges, which were secretly filed by a grand jury in April, included murder and destruction of an airplane. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has condemned the indictment as a political stunt that sought only to “justify the folly of a military aggression against Cuba.”

The Castro indictment has led many to believe that the Trump administration is following the same playbook it did when it captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a military operation in early January. Maduro, who has been imprisoned in the U.S. since his seizure, faces federal drug trafficking charges and has pleaded not guilty.

Trump has been threatening military action in Cuba ever since ousting Maduro and then ordering an energy blockade that choked off fuel shipments to Cuba. That has led to severe blackouts, food shortages and an economic collapse across the island.

The Trump administration this month also has slapped new sanctions on Cuba, the largest of which is against Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A., a business conglomerate operated by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces.

On Thursday, Rubio announced that the sister of the GAESA’s Executive President, who was living in the U.S., has had her green card revoked and been arrested, and is now in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.

“Past Administrations have permitted the families of Cuban military elites, Iranian terrorists and other reprehensible organizations to enjoy lavish lifestyles in our country funded by stolen blood-money, while the people they repress at home suffer in increasingly dire circumstances. No longer.”
Marco Rubio

Trump has ratcheted up talk of regime change in Cuba after pledging to conduct a “friendly takeover” of the country if its leadership did not open its economy to American investment and kick out U.S. adversaries.

China opposes U.S. sanctions and pressure on Cuba, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, said Thursday. “China firmly supports Cuba in safeguarding its national sovereignty and national dignity and opposes external interference,” Guo added.

Rubio Insists Trump Seeks Diplomacy With Cuba

Nonetheless, Rubio said that the Trump administration wants to resolve differences with Cuba peacefully but is doubtful the U.S. can reach a diplomatic resolution with the island’s current government.

Rubio said in Miami before boarding a plane to attend a NATO meeting in Sweden and then visit India that Trump’s “preference is always a negotiated agreement that’s peaceful.”

“That’s always our preference. That remains our preference with Cuba. I’m just being honest with you, you know, the likelihood of that happening, given who we’re dealing with right now, is not high.”
Marco Rubio

Top Trump aides — including Rubio, CIA chief John Ratcliffe and other senior national security officials — have met with Cuban officials in recent months to explore possible improvements in relations.

However, the U.S. side has come away unimpressed from those talks, leading to even more sanctions imposed on the Cuban government in the past week. Rubio stated that over the years, Cuba has gotten used to “buying time and waiting us out.”

“They’re not going to be able to wait us out or buy time. We’re very serious, we’re very focused.”
Marco Rubio

When asked whether the U.S. would use force in Cuba to change the island’s political system, Rubio repeated that a diplomatic settlement was preferred but noted that “the President always has the option to do whatever it takes to support and protect the national interest.”

He pushed back on a reporter’s suggestion that it sounded like “nation-building,” insisting it was about addressing a national security risk.