The advantages of a change in relations with the United States, from a democratic government in Havana, "would be unimaginable" for the Island, said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in an exclusive interview with the director of DIARIO DE CUBA, Pablo Díaz Espí.
"The scale, the opportunity is staggering," Pompeo added in the interview, which covered topics such as the human rights situation in Cuba, the current relationship between Havana and Washington, the Trump Administration’s strategy towards the Cuban regime, Cuba’s influence in Venezuela, the ongoing investigation into the health problems suffered by U.S. diplomats in Cuba, and an initiative by some in the U.S. Congress that seeks to give asylum to Cuban doctors who escape from state-run "medical missions programs" abroad.
On Wednesday, July 31, DIARIO DE CUBA will publish the conversation between Pompeo and Díaz Espí.
The Island is "a great place, it’s got great products. Tourism could flourish inside of Cuba" if relations with the United States were to improve, Pompeo noted.
"There would be enormous wealth created in Cuba. It would be good for the United States too," he added.
"This would mean a substantial improvement in the life of every ordinary Cuban person who longs for their freedom and the capacity to take care of their family and to educate themselves," he maintained. "This opening up between our two countries would be truly transformational for Cuba."
But that is "something that only the Cuban regime can deliver with the demands of the Cuban people at their back," Pompeo warned.