Rubio warns Cuban regime after Raul Castro's indictment: 'They're not going to be able to wait us out or buy time'

Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said Thursday that the United States is fully "focused" on achieving a change of regime in Cuba, following the formal indictment of former dictator Raul Castro for the 1996 shoot-down of two civilian airliners, an attack that killed four people flying over the Strait of Florida looking for Cuban rafters.

"Their economic system doesn't work. It's broken, and you can't fix it with the current political system that's in place," Rubio told reporters in Miami while on his way to a NATO meeting in Sweden. "They're not going to be able to wait us out or buy time. We're very serious. We're very focused."

Rubio also noted that the U.S. preference is "always a diplomatic solution" but warned that President Trump has other options in the face of perceived threats.

"Cuba has always posed a national security threat to the United States," the secretary said, pointing to the presence of Russian and Chinese weapons and intelligence on the island.

Rubio questions Cuba's acceptance of $100 million

On the other hand, the secretary of state acknowledged that Cuba have allegedly accepted an offer of humanitarian aid for $100 million, although he was cautious 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.

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," he warned.

Gaesa, the military octopus blocking humanitarian aid

Rubio has criticized Gaesa on multiple occasions, 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 tension with the Cuban regime.