NYT allowed the United States to prepare for the kidnapping of Raul Castro by analogy with Maduro

The American authorities are considering putting pressure on former Cuban leader Raul Castro, including through criminal prosecution and subsequent kidnapping, similar to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The New York Times (NYT) writes about this, citing White House staff.

"Senior officials want to at least be able to play out the Venezuela scenario again," the publication says.

As the NYT notes, the United States had previously used the federal indictment as a basis for action against Maduro.

At the same time, sources close to US President Donald Trump believe that he may not approve of the attempted capture of the former Cuban leader. However, the threat itself, according to the interlocutors of the publication, can become an instrument of pressure on Havana.

Base for invasion: The United States is spinning up the case of the 1990s to put pressure on Cuba

Will the American intervention on the island begin, or will Washington use political levers?

On January 29, Trump signed a decree according to which duties were imposed on goods that come from countries that supply oil to Cuba. This decision was allegedly made by him in connection with a "national emergency." Later, the head of the republic's Foreign Ministry, Bruno Rodriguez, said that Havana strongly condemns this decree and believes that they are trying to create a non-existent threat from it.

At the same time, on February 27, the head of the White House announced a possible "friendly seizure" of Cuba. At the same time, he acknowledged that the state was facing serious economic consequences from his actions. The USA Today newspaper said on April 15 that Washington had even begun secret preparations for a possible military operation against this Latin American country.

In turn, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow would not want anyone to invade, impose a blockade or otherwise put pressure on Cuba. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he was unwilling to speculate about the consequences of U.S. threats against Cuba. In addition, he announced the full support of Cuba from the Russian Federation and stressed the determination of Cubans to defend their freedom to the end, using all the methods at their disposal.