Rubio blames ‘unimaginable hardships’ of Cubans on communist leaders in video for Cuban Independence Day

Secretary of State Marco Rubio taped a rare message in Spanish directed at the Cuban people, laying blame at the communist leadership for conditions in the country.

The video, released on Cuba’s day of independence, comes as the Trump administration has floated an invasion amid faltering negotiations.

An indictment of former Cuban President Raúl Castro is also expected later Wednesday.

“The reason you are forced to survive 22 hours a day without electricity is not due to an oil ‘blockade’ by the U.S. As you know, better than anyone, you have been suffering from blackouts for years,” Rubio said in the video address.

“The real reason you don’t have electricity, fuel or food is because those who control your country have plundered billions of dollars, but nothing has been used to help the people.”

Cuba said last week that it had completely exhausted its fuel supplies, tapping the last of its oil supply that a Russian tanker was permitted to bring to its shores and plunging the country further into darkness after weeks of over 20-hour........

© The Hill