Washington, United States.
Juan González, the most important Latin America advisor to the President of Joe Biden assured that the current president “is not Barack Obama in policy on Cuba,” and closes one for the time being dialogue between Washington and the island.
“The political moment has changed in a major way, the political space has been closed a lot, because the Cuban government has not responded in any way, and in fact the repression against Cubans today is even worse than it may have been during the administration.” (George W. ) Bush (2001-2009), ”González said in an interview broadcast by CNN in Spanish this Sunday.
“Those who think that the US is going to enter into a multi-year dialogue with Cuba right now, I think they don’t understand the political moment and situation we live in or, frankly, I would say the disorder we inherited from the previous government, ”he added, noting that“ perhaps the political capital or time of this government will not be invested there initially ”.
González also justified that the US is not complying with the agreement to process 20,000 visas for Cuban immigrants a year, arguing that they want to make sure that US personnel in Havana are “safe.”
Washington has denounced attacks on his officials in Havana which reportedly took place between November 2016 and August 2017, which he initially classified as acoustic, although he later acknowledged that their nature was not confirmed.
As a result of these events, the White House ordered the departure of non-essential personnel from the embassy in Cuba in 2018, that is, 60% of the total.
Asked about the possibility of rapprochement with the Government of Nicolás Maduro, González thought that the Venezuelan president should have a conversation about the future of his country with the opposition Juan Guaidó, who is recognized by the US as that country’s interim president, and with a broad front that that leader seeks to conform in the participation of different sectors.
“We are not going to place conditions on that process, it is a full Venezuelan process,” said the official, who indicated that the Biden government within the United States will try to “depoliticise the situation vis-à-vis Venezuela” to cooperate with both. Democrats as well as Republicans, looking for a solution for that country.
Likewise, he defended the sanctions imposed by the United States on Venezuela and rejected them as the cause of the crisis in that country, which he attributes to Maduro and the late President Hugo Chávez.
“What is happening to the Venezuelan people is unjust, and it is not something that is the fault of the United States, it is something that is the fault of those who are de facto in power at the moment,” said the adviser. . which subordinated any action that subordinated the lifting of pressure on Maduro’s government to establish a new National Electoral Council (CNE).