Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis says Cuba’s only hope for a brighter economic and political future is for the communist regime founded in a revolution by Fidel Castro to come to a close.
DeSantis, at a Miami news conference Friday, said a comparison between the largely successful Cuban exiles in the U.S. and the people still on the island shows the large disparity.
“Unless you’re part of the Communist Party, you’re poor. You’ve got no opportunity,” the governor said. “And just imagine if that island were free, how successful it would be.”
DeSantis added: “So, the only way Cuba is going to get better is to end communism in Cuba, end the Castro dictatorship.”
How long has Cuba has been run by a communist government?
Fidel Castro, who led the 1959 revolution in Cuba, died in 2016 but his brother, Raul, and other party members remain in charge. Cuba is beset by economic problems, lack of energy including frequent blackouts and U.S. sanctions that add to its difficulties.
President Donald Trump said this year that he wants to have the “honor” of taking Cuba, although he has not furnished many details on how that might work.
“It’s a failed nation,” Trump said in March. “They have no money, they have no oil, they have no nothing. They have nice land. They have nice landscape. You know, it’s a beautiful island.”
DeSantis says Cuba could be a much more successful country
DeSantis noted that he served at the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during his Navy service and was impressed by the country’s possibilities. The governor also said it wouldn’t work to just negotiate deals with the current Cuban government.
“Ultimately, they will take that money for themselves. So as long as they’re in power, you don’t have a pathway, I think, to have true reform on that island,” DeSantis said.
The governor added that he did not want an influx of Cubans into Florida, just 90 miles away, if there was a U.S. effort to push out the communist government. There have been several migrations of Cubans to Florida and elsewhere over the years.
“We would want the people there to be part of the solution to be able to get Cuba back on its feet, you know, where it belongs,” DeSantis said.
Curt Anderson is the Policy and Politics Reporter for The USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY at https://tallahassee.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida Gov. DeSantis says U.S. should help with regime change in Cuba
Reporting by Curt Anderson, USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
