Marco Rubio says Cuban regime accepted $100 million in humanitarian aid, but sets conditions

Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged Thursday that Cuba accepted an offer of $100 million in humanitarian aid, although he showed caution about whether the Cuban regime will actually comply with the conditions demanded by Washington.

"They say they've accepted it. We'll see if that means it," will work out, Rubio told reporters in Miami as he left for a NATO meeting in Sweden.

The secretary insisted that any aid must go directly to the population and not pass through the hands of the regime. "We're not going to do humanitarian aid that falls into the hands of their military company that they have. And then they take that stuff and they sell it at the dollar stores and put the money in their pocket."

GAESA, the military entity blocking humanitarian aid

Rubio has criticized GAESA on multiple occasions, the Cuban military-controlled company that dominates key sectors of the economy such as hotel tourism. Just two weeks ago, the Treasury Department included GAESA in its list of sanctioned entities.

Since the beginning of the year, the United States has managed to channel millions of dollars in aid through the Catholic Church, an avenue that generates strong tensions with the Cuban regime.

From Raúl Castro’s indictment to Cuba’s military threat

In parallel, Washington announced Wednesday the indictment of former dictator Raúl Castro for the downing of two light aircraft in 1996, an event described as historic.

Rubio made clear he believed Cuba posed a threat. "Cuba not only has weapons that they've acquired from Russia and China over the years, but they also host (a) Russia and Chinese intelligence presence in their country, not far from where we're standing right now."

President Donald Trump had signaled in recent weeks that Cuba could become the next target following actions in Venezuela and Iran, but on Wednesday clarified that for now he does not foresee "an escalation."