Our closest communist neighbor in terms of proximity is Cuba— and that island nation has experienced ups and downs under the past few presidents. After Obama loosened longstanding travel restrictions, Trump and Biden tightened them back up and then some. Today we speak with a top Cuban official about the prospects that the U.S.-Cuba relationship will get better or worse under Donald Trump’s second term.

The following is a transcript of a report from “Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson.”
Watch the video by clicking the link at the end of the page.

When we visited Cuba a year and a half ago, we found economic changes as the island nation grappled with a dire economy. For the first time in decades, Cuba began allowing private ownership of small and medium sized businesses now numbering more than 11,000.

Still Cuba is suffering critical shortages of food fuel and medicine, and double digit inflation. The enduring U.S. embargo, and its ripple effects deter Western nations from trading with Cuba. That’s led Cuba to forge ties with the most willing major powers: Russia and China.

I recently spoke with Cuba’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Fernandez de Cossio at our U.S. studios.

Sharyl: So the second Trump administration comes in and makes some changes against Cuba. Do you all get alerted before that? Is there any diplomatic relationship at all where there are discussions that take place prior to that?

Carlos Fernandez de Cossio: Formally there are diplomatic relationships, but there hasn’t been any communication since real communication since the new administration came in. So the measures are just announced by the media. We learn. When, when, when the media

Sharyl: You were surprised?

de Cossio: No, truly no, because the, the current Secretary of State and some of the people that accompanied the campaign with President Trump were very vocal on the idea that they would take advantage of this new administration to try to even put more pressure on Cuba to be able with this administration, to mobilize the full weight of the United United States to try to punish the people of Cuba even more.

Sharyl: So a couple of specifics that were announced by Secretary Rubio, let you answer these things. “The President acted on his first day in office to keep Cuba on the SST,” the terrorism list, where it belongs he said. “We call for the regime to end its support for terrorism, and to stop providing food, housing, and medical care to foreign murderers, bombmakers, and hijackers, while Cubans go hungry and lack access to basic medicine.” What are they referring to when they refer to your support for terrorism and food, housing and medical care?

de Cossio: Now, there have been accusations in the U.S. against Cuba and Cuba follows protocols that every country follows that are supported by international law and by Cuban law, by which we give protection for people who are persecuted for political reasons. Now, the, the Secretary of State in the United States is a very bad position to claim something like this because in the United States, specifically in the community where he comes from, there are dozens of people, some already passed and some still alive, that have committed heinous crimes in Cuba. One of them who already passed was once qualified by the U.S. authorities as the most important terrorist that exists in the Western hemisphere. And he died peacefully undisturbed in this country. So

Sharyl: What was his name?

de Cossio: Luis Posada Carriles. He passed a few years back. He was, among others, responsible for blowing up a civil plane in 1976 in midair until September 11th, 2001. It was considered the biggest terrorist attack in the Western hemisphere. He was responsible for that and he died peacefully in this country.

Sharyl: I doubt this would happen, but if President Trump were to say, ‘I will sit down with your leader and give you a list of things that I feel,’ meaning President Trump, ‘have to be done for us to have relationships’. Would you welcome something like that? Regardless of whether you would agree with what’s on the list?

de Cossio: I can’t speak for my leader, but I can guess that we would be ready to sit down to discuss anything with the United States and we will also have our list. And I’m sure that no president should fear to be able to sit down and discuss each other’s lists, that’s what countries do.

Sharyl: And lastly, what would you like the American people to know? We spoke before that probably when Americans hear something about Cuba, it may frequently be through the eyes of whatever government is in charge here. What would you like them to know? Speaking directly.

de Cossio: Cuba is not an adversary of the United States, nor an enemy. Nor do we want to be an enemy of the United States. We wish we could have peaceful relationship. We wish Americans would not be prohibited by their government to travel to Cuba, to have trade with Cuba, to have financial in Cuba, to visit Cuba, to have academic, religious, artistic, scientific as countries around the world do. For us, the only exception is the U.S. We relate in that manner with the rest of the world, and we wish we could do that with United States. That this prohibition did not exist for the whole of the American people in response to a very narrow interest of our group of people in this country.

Sharyl (on-camera): Right now, the U.S. permits travel to Cuba under limited circumstances, such as for educational purposes, that would further tighten if Cuba is included in an absolute travel ban that could be installed by the Trump administration.

Watch video here.