President Donald Trump said on Friday the United States would take care of Cuba after dealing with Iran and would send Secretary of State Marco Rubio to finish the deal.
* “We’ll take care of Cuba on our way back from Iran… then we’re going to send Marco Rubio in to finish up the deal,” Trump told a rally in Florida.
* Trump predicted last month the US and Cuba would reach an agreement and that he did not think military action would be necessary.
* The Trump administration has previously stated its goal is to change Cuba’s communist government.
* A US-imposed oil blockade implemented earlier this year has put Cuba under severe strain as it contends with fuel shortages and blackouts exacerbated by failing infrastructure.
* Washington has maintained an embargo on Cuba for more than 60 years and the Trump administration has been stepping up pressure on Havana after the US military in January seized then-Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a deadly raid.
* Cuba’s foreign minister told the UN General Assembly last month Cuba would always be open for dialogue with Washington.
(Reporting by Bo Erickson, Kanishka Singh and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by David Ljunggren)