By Raul Castillo
Senate Democrats failed Tuesday to impose new limits on President Donald Trump’s ability to order military action against Cuba without congressional authorization, in another defeat for those seeking to curb the reach of his war powers.
The proposal, promoted by Senator Tim Kaine, was blocked by a vote of 51 to 47, after the Republican majority closed ranks to prevent its advance. Still, two Republicans, Susan Collins and Rand Paul, broke with their party and backed the initiative.
The resolution sought to force the White House to obtain congressional approval before undertaking any military action against the island. Its promoters maintain that the measure was necessary given Washington’s growing pressure on Havana and Trump’s repeated statements about the possibility of acting against the Cuban government.
Before the vote, the Democratic leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer warned that Republicans were ignoring signs of a possible escalation.
“They must get ahead of the imminent catastrophe in Cuba before it gets even worse,” said the senator. by New York, comparing the situation with the United States military intervention in Iran.
Cuba, a threat?
Kaine, for his part, argued that Cuba does not represent an immediate threat to US security. and questioned the justification of an eventual armed action. He also pointed out that the oil blockade imposed by the Trump administration constitutes a form of hostility that has aggravated the humanitarian crisis on the island.
Since January, the White House has toughened its policy toward Cuba with energy restrictions and increasingly aggressive rhetoric. Trump has suggested on several occasions that Cuba could be his next target, especially after military operations in Venezuela and Iran.
In recent weeks the president has said that he believes that will have “the honor of taking Cuba” and that “Cuba will be next.”
Republicans rejected those warnings and defended that there is no imminent opinion for military intervention. At the same time, they accused the Democrats of downplaying complaints about human rights violations attributed to the Miguel Díaz-Canel regime.
The issue is irrelevant, said Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida.
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