President-elect Trump threatened to reinstate sanctions on Cuba lifted by President Obama if the Caribbean country won’t make “a better deal” for its citizens and the United States.
“If Cuba is unwilling to make a better deal for the Cuban people, the Cuban/American people and the U.S. as a whole, I will terminate deal,” Trump said in a Monday morning tweet.
The message comes two days after former Cuban leader Fidel Castro died at the age of 90. The former dictator long blamed the United States for his country’s issues and his death was seen as a possible step toward reconciling relations between the two countries.
Diplomatic progress with new Cuban President Raul Castro has been slow but steadily growing in recent years. Restrictions on trade between the two countries have been somewhat lifted by the Obama administration, though an embargo remains in effect. The U.S. also reopened its embassy in Havana last year.
A message left with Trump representatives seeking clarification on his tweet, such as what a “better deal” would mean for Trump and whether he plans to reinstate all sanctions on Cuba if those conditions are not met, was not immediately returned.
