Rubio urges Cubans to work with CIA

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP)—United States (US) Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday called for Cubans to make "discreet" contact with the American intelligence services as Washington seeks to force an end to the island's communist government.

For months, President Donald Trump and other senior US officials have openly hinted at a military intervention or takeover of Cuba, ramping up economic, political and legal pressure on the country.

"To those who seek to create positive change in Cuba -- now is the time," Rubio said on social media.

"The disappointment of failed promises, corruption, and the privileged lives of only a few; seize this opportunity to create the change you desire through a discrete partnership with the CIA."

The unusual post appeared to confirm that the CIA is currently active in Cuba after a long history of covert operations including backing the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961.

Trump, speaking at a rally in Florida earlier Friday, underlined his ambitions to impose regime change in Cuba.

"Those beautiful (US military) ships will pass Cuba. We'll have one of them stop about 50 yards off the coast," he said. "They'll raise up their hands. And then we're going to send Marco Rubio in to finish up the deal."

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez quickly dismissed Trump's threats.

"Our coastline is full of beautiful beaches, but there are also razor-sharp limestone spikes, an inhospitable environment for those who make it to our shores with hostile purposes and lust for domination," he posted.

- Energy blockade - In the latest US move against the Cuban leadership, Florida's top prosecutor this week announced an arrest warrant for former president Raul Castro on state murder charges that echo a federal indictment unveiled earlier this year.

Castro, 95, is wanted on murder charges connected to the 1996 shooting down of two civilian aircraft from "Brothers to the Rescue," an organization assisting Cubans fleeing to the US state by sea.

Castro, brother of the late revolutionary leader and US nemesis Fidel Castro, was indicted on federal charges related to the incident in May.

Trump previously seized on a US indictment to justify military action that toppled Venezuela's then-president Nicolas Maduro, a staunch ally of the Cuban authorities.

Current Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has said the US federal indictment against Castro has "no legal basis" and was an attempt "to justify the folly of a military aggression against Cuba."

Washington also imposed a de facto energy blockade on Cuba in January, threatening to sanction any country that supplies fuel to the island of 9.4 million people.