Putin Shores Up Ties With Cuba

Russian President Vladimir Putin made a phone call to Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on December 28 to wrap up a strong year of cooperation. The two leaders confirmed agreements made in a meeting back in November and agreed to set up more contacts.

Particular attention was paid to mutually beneficial joint projects in energy, industry and other areas, and a shared interest in continuing to strengthen all areas of the Russian-Cuban strategic partnership was expressed.
—The Kremlin

November meeting: Díaz-Canel met with Putin in Moscow on November 22 to discuss developments in political, economic and cultural partnerships, “as well as to exchange views on key topics on the international agenda,” according to the Kremlin.

• Díaz-Canel was also there to attend the unveiling of a monument dedicated to the late Cuban Communist leader Fidel Castro.

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A thorn in America’s side: The Russo-Cuban relationship brings some benefits to both sides. But it is mainly a means for Russia to maintain influence near some of the United States’ most vulnerable shipping lanes.

Russia has been fixated on Cuba for decades. For Moscow, Cuba was the key to Latin America and, as important, a perpetual irritant to the United States. Today, the United States is supporting Ukraine, overseeing blockades on dollars and goods, holding a force on standby in the Mediterranean Sea. Russia desperately needs a counter.
—George Friedman, political analyst

The Trumpet said: Russia understands how vulnerable America’s Gulf trade is and would like nothing more than to cut off America’s economic ties to the rest of the world. We wrote in the March 2019 Trumpet:

The United States is being threatened by hostile nations taking over the Caribbean Sea. Major news sources pay little attention to this region, but the Caribbean is vital to U.S. security. This sea not only connects the East Coast with the Pacific Ocean via the Panama Canal, it guards the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico. Half of America’s seaborne trade passes through the Gulf. So a foreign power that controls the Caribbean could cripple the U.S. economy by restricting its access to oceanic shipping.

Learn more: Read “Preparing to Storm America’s Castle.”