Latest news with #Claver-Carone
Miami Herald
22-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Claver-Carone, a Cuba hardliner and key Latin America advisor, leaves the Trump administration
Mauricio Claver-Carone, the Cuba and Venezuela hardliner tapped as special envoy for Latin America, will leave his position by the end of May, leaving Secretary of State Marco Rubio with some policy wins but without an important ally to navigate the Trump administration. As a former Western Hemisphere director at the National Security Council under Donald Trump's first administration, Claver-Carone was one of the few political appointees with previous policy knowledge and valuable relationships that Rubio could deploy backstage to hone in on thorny diplomatic issues — and one helping him flip the narrative about the United States' lack of interest in Latin America and the Caribbean. In a wide-ranging interview, Claver-Carone told the Miami Herald his role as special envoy was always meant to be temporary because he could not 'walk away' from his Miami-based investment firm, the Lara Fund, which he had recently helped create. He was appointed as a special government employee, a position administrations usually use to tap advisors who serve for up to 130 days during a year, a limit he has quickly filled up working '24/7,' he said. Such appointments are non-paid and allow individuals to hold on to a private sector job. While he saw himself as 'a bridge' between the White House and the State Department, Claver-Carone said he is no longer needed in that role now that Rubio has been appointed as interim national security advisor. He said that role will help the Secretary 'streamline' the bureaucracy, saying 'he doesn't need someone like me, he is the greatest bridge.' He says he remains 'one phone call away,' willing to help the administration, and confident in the prospects for American companies wanting to invest in Latin America. Claver-Carone and people close to Rubio said they are puzzled by press reports in Argentina — whose officials Claver-Carone has crossed at times — suggesting his exit was due to the two Cuban Americans not getting along. Claver-Carone said he speaks daily with Rubio, which a person close to Rubio confirmed. 'The secretary is one of the most talented individuals I've ever seen in my life,' he said. 'People are spreading false rumors in an attempt to undermine President Trump's America First agenda,' a senior State Department official told the Herald. 'Special Envoy Claver-Carone has played a critical role in advancing that agenda and Secretary Rubio is grateful for his willingness to serve his country.' A former lobbyist and director of the U.S. Cuba Democracy PAC in Washington, Claver-Carone threw his support behind Rubio's presidential bid in 2016, paying for ads and endorsing Rubio in an email to his network of Cuban exiles. They worked closely during the first Trump administration to dismantle President Barack Obama's policy of engagement with Cuba and shift the sanctions' focus toward the Cuban military. This time, Claver-Carone helped shape Rubio's ambitious diplomatic agenda for the Western Hemisphere, helping him to improve relations with Mexico, which the special envoy sees as critical to secure President Trump's migration agenda. 'What we've done with Mexico has now led to the most, safest border in history,' he said, highlighting the administration's successful extradition of cartel leaders. It was Claver-Carone who previewed for journalists Rubio's two trips to Latin America and the Caribbean, which signaled the administration's firm intent to make migration and security top issues and reclaim its influence in the region. In January, Claver-Carone also helped to put out the fire when Colombian president Gustavo Petro announced past midnight on social media that his country was backing away from its commitment to take deportations flights with Colombian migrants, igniting a diplomatic crisis that put at risk the nations' close military alliance. The swift reaction by the Trump administration is an example, he says, of what can be done without 'bureaucracy grinding things to a halt.' 'We were able to shut down the entire visa processing in Colombia, send notices to everyone that the consular services were shut down, do enhanced screening … on all Colombian goods and write an executive order to create tariffs on Colombian goods' he said. 'Something like that would take 12 weeks of pondering and 12 months of execution. And we did it all in 12 hours on a Sunday.' Claver-Carone has also had a hand in some of the Trump administration's most controversial actions, helping Rubio hammer out a deal with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele to incarcerate Venezuelan migrants accused of belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang at a notorious prison for terrorists, which he says has created a 'huge deterrent for criminal activity throughout the region'. He said the deal also 'created tremendous leverage on Venezuela policy,' because soon after Venezuela's strongman Nicolás Maduro agreed to accept two to three weekly flights with Venezuelan deportees. He is leaving the administration with what appears to be one last win: an assurance by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that a license to U.S. company Chevron to sell Venezuelan oil in the United States, which he and others see as a lifeline to Maduro, will not be extended. What follows is the rest of the conversation, edited for brevity. Q: There is much controversy about this deal with El Salvador. There are allegations of human rights violations in that prison. And we have been hearing privately from some foreign diplomats that they resent the pressure if they say 'no' to accepting deportees from third countries. Do you think this controversy is going to undo what you have been highlighting as a positive? A: First and foremost, as regards to Salvadorans and MS-13, that's a responsibility of El Salvador. They deal with them. I don't think there's controversy. I would like to commend President Bukele for the extraordinary transformation of one of the most dangerous countries in the world to one of the safest countries in the world today. There's not been a shred of evidence, a shred of evidence from any group at any time that has shown and documented any human rights violation at CECOT. Q: Some groups of activists disagree with that. A: I have yet to see a single shred of evidence of any type of abuse or any type of human rights violation to any prisoner, to any gang member terrorist imprisoned in CECOT. These human rights groups were nowhere to be seen when these terrorists were violating the human rights of millions of people on a daily basis. Q: There are questions about the implementation of the agreement, about whether the people deported are members of gangs or not. What was the plan? Is the U.S. deporting criminals only? A: Let me be unequivocal, every single MS-13 member, that's a responsibility of El Salvador, and every Venezuelan that was sent to CECOT under the agreement, which is the only other non Salvadoran group that was agreed to, was a member of the Tren de Aragua. And any reporting and any rhetoric that's trying to claim otherwise is simply false. Q: Well, there are lawsuits about it, but going back to the broader issue of Latin America policy, have you felt a push back from Latin American governments, maybe resenting that U.S. foreign policy toward the region is again becoming basically domestic U.S. policy, this time around migration? A: The media likes to paint it as us being bullies, but it's countries' responsibility to take their own citizens back. But here's what responsible countries tell us all the way up and down in Central America, including Mexico: we have created not only the most secure border in our history, but a pathway that has brought security to the region because, when millions of people were crossing over countries, that was a gateway for criminal organizations, cartels and human trafficking groups. Here's the part that no one talks about. It was a huge drain on their economies and on their budgets, having to deal on a daily basis with the millions of people that were unfettered crossing over. Now these borders are more secure than ever, they are able to focus those resources to just basically provide security and social services. Q: There are a lot of questions in Miami about this: The administration has restored a tough policy on Venezuela, on Cuba. The U.S. designated Haitian gangs as terrorists. The administration says these are terrible regimes, but it's also pushing to send people to those same countries. How do you make sense of the contradiction between these two different messages? A: I understand the balancing act, but the reality is the biggest tool that these regimes have had to survive is exporting their problems and populations to the United States. Those aren't easy decisions, but they're consistent with the overall migration security policy of the president. And at the end of the day, at some point, which is obviously now, the spigot needs to close. Otherwise, Venezuela and Nicaragua are also going to become Cubas, whereby they're going to be around in the same kind of structure 30, 40 years from now, because their population and problems have been exported to the United States. Q: What about the Cuban case, then? A: Let me just put it to you this way. There are no greater supporters of Venezuelans, Cubans and Nicaraguans coming and staying in the United States and sending money back from the United States — and doing it all over again the more displeasure there is domestically — than Maduro, [Nicaragua's Daniel] Ortega and [Cuba's Miguel] Díaz-Canel. I think no one can argue the fact that those regimes want to export their population and send as much money back as possible to their regimes. At some point it has to end. And President Trump has a very clear policy line on migration security, globally. That's the rationale. At some point it has to stop because if not, these problems will never get fixed. Q: So how do you solve the Cuba and Venezuela problems? What can we expect from the Trump administration going forward? A: The Biden administration, whether it was returning narco-traffickers, returning indicted Maduro regime officials, allowing billions of dollars of royalties and taxes to go directly to Maduro and his cronies, it was basically a giveaway, and got nothing in return for the United States. What the President has done is re-establishing credibility, that you don't get to export all your problems to the United States, to flood it with gangs, to terrorize our communities and then continue getting billions of dollars from the United States directly to the regime. How that credibility and leverage is exercised into a proactive policy, that's where the President and the Secretary of State are headed. Also add to that a stolen election. I think the same goes with Cuba, which is a little bit more complicated because it's been a longer-term problem. Basically, the status quo whereby the regime sits and just watches and doesn't have to make tough changes, tough decisions, because at the end of day, is going to be managed and fed from abroad, that also stops here. Now, the regime is going to have to make tough decisions on how to deal with its realities and its people, which is its responsibility. In regards to both, the greatest thing that has been done the last four months is say, 'Hey, the Free for All is over.' Changes have to happen. Q :Do you expect the U.S. to have a bigger role in Haiti? A: We have been paying very close attention to Haiti. Every Caribbean leader has told us that the Biden administration policy was basically giving up. They had essentially acquiesced to the notion that Haiti would be a country run by criminal gangs. That's where we had to start from, which is obviously not acceptable. These criminal ?bank? gangs in Haiti are not unbeatable. The problem is not about defeating the gangs. The gangs can be defeated. The problem is how to create institutionality in Haiti moving forward. That's the challenge. By the way, the National Police, with good leadership, good training, and good support can beat them themselves. Q: But for a long time they didn't receive resources from the U.S. A: That was another fight because here's the problem: you can send resources, but you have to make sure that there's no corruption. There's no lack of money that has gone to Haiti but there's also been misuse. We have a little bit of a chicken and egg problem here. The move that the Secretary of State made in designating the gangs as foreign terrorist organizations is very important because these groups are getting their weapons from Miami or Colombia. All the contraband is coming in from abroad, and all of these players, whether they're in Miami, Bogota, Cartagena or Panama, they now have to ask themselves the question, do you want to be charged with material support of a terrorist organization? And we already started to see some evidence of deterrence. We have to support the Haitian National Police and hold their feet to the fire. They have good people that can get the job done, that are extraordinarily courageous and capable. They need good leadership, and they need support. And then internationally, people need to step up their game. I think people need to be reminded that the reason that there's no UN peacekeeping force in Haiti is because China has been opposed. China thrives from chaos in the region. China wants to see Haiti in chaos.
Miami Herald
10-04-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Things are about to get a lot worse in Cuba: Trump's crackdown plans explained
In a gambit to try to precipitate regime change in Cuba, the Trump administration is planning to ramp up sanctions on the island's military as part of a maximum-pressure campaign that may also further restrict travel, remittances and exports. Trump administration officials and Cuban-American members of Congress believe the communist regime in Havana is at its weakest moment in decades and have been pushing for an all-out effort to topple it. The island's economy has been in a downward spiral in recent years, and the country's ruler, Raúl Castro, is 94. In a Miami event last week, Trump's special envoy for Latin America, Mauricio Claver-Carone, said the administration perceives 'a historic opportunity in Cuba for political opening and political transition.' Taking the broad sanctions on Venezuela enacted during the first Trump administration as a model, officials have been discussing how to update the existing decades-old embargo against Cuba and close 'loopholes' to avoid 'the ups and downs, pressures and non pressures' that have hindered its success, Claver-Carone said. 'The tools used against Cuba are very outdated,' he said. 'Even the sanctions themselves are based on old laws that sometimes have no secondary effects.' Claver-Carone said the administration has already made strides in that direction and created 'new mechanisms to be more efficient, to be more surgical' to target 'the different economic sectors in the regime,' particularly the military. The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces control much of the Cuban economy through an umbrella organization, GAESA, that handles many of the most lucrative businesses, including large swaths of the tourism industry. A Miami Herald investigation in 2024 showed that GAESA has funneled much of the country´s hard currency toward its own enterprises. The military also seems to be the real power behind the government of leader Miguel Díaz-Canel, so the administration plans to 'leverage that pressure quite a bit to ensure there are incentives... for change,' Claver-Carone said. In a parallel effort, U.S. Rep. Carlos Giménez, a Cuban American Republican from Miami who represents a district stretching to the Florida Keys, asked the administration last week to halt all travel and remittances to the island, which would prohibit Cuban Americans from visiting relatives on the island or sending money to help them. Giménez also called for a halt to all travel to the U.S. originating from the island and asked for financial sanctions, including tariffs, on countries that do not directly pay Cuba's doctors in the medical missions abroad that have become a significant source of hard currency for the island's government. The Herald has also learned of other measures being floated by the Trump administration, including revoking export licenses held by U.S. companies supplying the island's private sector and shutting down U.S.-based online supermarkets that allow Cuban Americans to pay for food, and even medicines, that are then delivered directly to Cubans on the island. The measures are still under discussion, and it is unclear how far officials would ultimately push to shut down revenue going into the island. But if enacted, some of the ideas proposed also risk destroying a nascent private sector and worsening the country's ongoing humanitarian crisis. Travel, remittances at stake Several years into a recession, Cuba faces chronic shortages of food, medicines and essential goods, and a crippled infrastructure that is hitting seniors living off state pensions the worst. The lack of food is particularly acute outside Havana, especially in rural areas in eastern Cuba. That's why remittances and the online supermarkets have been a lifeline for many Cubans — the government sells groceries and other necessities in dollar stores but pays monthly salaries in pesos worth around $15, and much less to those on pensions. Some of these online platforms also deliver much-needed medications not available in state-run pharmacies. The broad restrictions the administration is contemplating would also hamper discreet efforts by religious organizations and other non-profits to send humanitarian aid to the island. As the situation has deteriorated, donations to Cuba have jumped from $36.5 million in 2023 to $67 million last year, according to figures compiled by the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council. 'Shutting down U.S. flights and informal remittance channels would harm innocent Cuban families far more than communist party elites with global ties who can travel anywhere else,' said Ricardo Herrero, executive director of the Cuba Study Group, a Cuban American group based in Washington. 'Prohibiting Cuban Americans from supporting their loved ones in Cuba won't topple the Cuban regime nor usher in democracy. It will only stoke migration to third countries and hasten the island's descent into a failed state.' But in a Fox News interview, Giménez called the money sent from Miami to Cuban relatives 'a cash cow' that helps the Havana regime finance its repressive apparatus. Without that revenue to spend on repression, he said, he hopes Cubans could rise and topple the government.. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has already moved to ban a company controlled by the Cuban military from processing remittances in partnership with Western Union, prompting the U.S. money-transfer giant to withdraw from Cuba. A similar measure against another Cuban company during the first Trump administration brought significant losses for the military's economic arm, the Herald reported. Still, the investigation showed most Cuban Americans were not using Western Union to send money to relatives, relying instead on smaller agencies working in a gray legal area and people who travel to the island to deliver the money in person, known as mulas, mules. John Kavulich, the president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, said returning to the more strict travel and remittance limits imposed by the first Trump administration would have a 'profound impact' on the Cuban government. At the time, the U.S. canceled flights to cities other than Havana and limited the amount of money that could be sent to relatives to $1,000 per quarter. Adding more travel restrictions would likely deter travelers wanting to avoid scrutiny and decrease the flow of money to be delivered by mules, Kavulich said. 'Cuba would lose revenue from visitors and remittances.' As it has happened under past administrations' crackdowns, such severe measures are likely to face opposition from some Cuban Americans in South Florida. A Florida International University poll that regularly surveys opinion among Cuban Americans in South Florida has consistently found support for travel and remittances to the island, even as many also support sanctions on the Cuban government. A source familiar with Giménez's thinking said he wants to cut all revenue going to the Cuban government and that while many Cuban Americans want to help their families, they also want to see the end of the Cuban regime. 'It's a difficult line to walk,' the source said. In the Miami event, Claver-Carone, who played a central role in shaping Cuba policy during the first Trump administration, showed little enthusiasm for Giménez's proposal, which he called an example of the 'old' sanctions tools. The first Trump administration did not go as far as Giménez is advocating now, in part to avoid past controversies that divided South Florida's Cuban American community. Cuban Americans have been debating on social media the wisdom or effectiveness of ending remittances at a critical time for Cuba's population. 'I don't think that will bring down that dictatorship,' an X user whose profile says 'Maga! Trump 2025' replied to a Giménez post warning Cuban Americans not to travel or send remittances to Cuba. 'They always benefit, and the Cuban people continue to die of hunger, and our families need that little bit of money we can send them just to eat. Bring down the dictatorship, but don't starve our families to death.' For their part, Cuban officials are reacting to the proposals by redoubling accusations that the United States wants to starve the island's population. Sanctions and the private sector U.S. officials are also looking at ways to stem increasing U.S. trade with Cuba, which the island's emergent private sector has driven in recent years. In the month of February, exports to Cuba were $47.6 million, a 75% jump from February last year, according to figures compiled by the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council. In 2024, U.S. companies exported $586 million to Cuba. Most of that trade, $433 million, is food and agricultural commodities, which is allowed under the embargo thanks to a 2000 law – the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act. Unlike in the past, when the Cuban government was the leading importer, private enterprises on the island and U.S. exporters selling to private businesses are responsible for most of the recent trade growth. U.S. food products are sold in private stores and privately owned restaurants on the island, or delivered directly to people's homes. U.S. companies have also exported cars, solar panels, clothing, household items, and many other types of goods, using special government authorizations known as licenses or invoking an exception in the embargo rules that allows activities 'in support of the Cuban people.' The merchandise is imported mainly by private business owners residing on the island or bought by Cuban Americans for their relatives living there. 'Today, most of the food exported from the United States to Cuba is shipped to private businesses on the ground because the government is broke and in arrears with all of its former suppliers,' Herrero said. 'Limiting U.S. food exports to Cuba would not only harm those independent entrepreneurs, but also countless Cuban families already suffering from severe food scarcity.' Prohibiting food exports from the U.S. would be difficult because it would require a change in the law, but revoking licenses might be easier for the administration, Kavulich said. Critics of companies that export to Cuba question whether they ultimately benefit or have links to the Cuban government. Hugo Cancio, a Cuban American who owns the online supermarket Katapulk, has been criticized by activists because he has attended events in the U.S. with Cuban officials, including Díaz-Canel. But he said his business does not benefit Cuban authorities, other than through duties paid to Cuba's customs agency. Cancio said he buys around 20 percent of the food and goods sold on Katapulk in the U.S. and third countries and ships them to Cuba. There, they are handled by a private company that is also in charge of deliveries. The other 80 percent is supplied by independent private businesses in Cuba that offer their products on the online platform. 'We have no ties to the Cuban government. I don't sell to the Cuban state, I don't have contracts with any government entity, I don't pay anything to the government beyond customs duties,' Cancio said. Cuban families, not the government, will be harmed if the Trump administration shuts down the online food sellers, he added. Because of the trade expansion, Kavulich said that limits imposed by the Trump administration might trigger pushback from a larger constituency of U.S. companies in several states. But Claver-Carone signaled the administration is ready to enact unpopular policies in a big bet it hopes will pay off sooner rather than later. 'There's still going to be disagreements. There's always commercial interests,' he said in the Miami event. 'But it's either short-term pain for long-term gain, or you'll have long-term pain and no gain. So we have to be all in — go big or go home.'
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China, US clash over major Argentina currency swap line
By Adam Jourdan BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - China is on a crash course with the United States over a major Chinese currency swap deal with Argentina that has buffered the South American country's depleted foreign reserve levels even as it seeks a new deal with the Washington-based IMF. In a talk at Miami Dade College late last week U.S. Special Envoy for Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone slammed the long-standing $18 billion swap line as amounting to "extortion" by China and said Washington wanted to see it ended. On Tuesday Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian, in a regular press conference, shot back at the United States, alleging that Washington was trying to "drive a wedge" between China and partners in Latin America. "Fair-minded people are able to tell who is extorting and coercing others and making trouble," he said in response to a question about Claver-Carone's comments. "Argentina's currency swap with China has for a long time played an important role in stabilizing its economy and finances, which is welcomed and well received in Argentina." China, the world's No. 2 economy that is facing a major trade war standoff with U.S. President Donald Trump, has a long-term swap agreement with Argentina, a serial defaulter that has been firefighting a sliding currency and dwindling foreign currency reserves for years. That swap line has come under scrutiny under Trump, an ideological ally of Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei. Milei faces a tough juggling act, however, between his White House ally and China, which snaps up Argentine soy, beef and lithium. Argentina and China last year renewed the activated part of the currency swap through July 2026, which helped to defuse fears over a payment crunch. The central bank did say then it would gradually ramp that down to zero by mid-2026. Claver-Carone, asked about Argentina and its talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a new $20 billion loan program, said he hoped the talks ended in success, but that Washington was concerned about China's role in the country. "What we would like to see, eventually, is the end of the famous line of credit Argentina has with China," he said. "That line of credit is extortionate, and as long as they maintain that line of credit, China will always be able to extort." He did not give details about how the currency swap was extortionate, though the United States has long warned about what it calls Chinese debt diplomacy in Latin America. China says it offers tangible trade and investment to the region. Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
08-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
China, US clash over major Argentina currency swap line
BUENOS AIRES, April 8 (Reuters) - China is on a crash course with the United States over a major Chinese currency swap deal with Argentina that has buffered the South American country's depleted foreign reserve levels even as it seeks a new deal with the Washington-based IMF. In a talk at Miami Dade College, opens new tab late last week U.S. Special Envoy for Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone slammed the long-standing $18 billion swap line as amounting to "extortion" by China and said Washington wanted to see it ended. On Tuesday Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian, in a regular press conference, shot back at the United States, alleging that Washington was trying to "drive a wedge" between China and partners in Latin America. "Fair-minded people are able to tell who is extorting and coercing others and making trouble," he said in response to a question about Claver-Carone's comments. "Argentina's currency swap with China has for a long time played an important role in stabilizing its economy and finances, which is welcomed and well received in Argentina." China, the world's No. 2 economy that is facing a major trade war standoff with U.S. President Donald Trump, has a long-term swap agreement with Argentina, a serial defaulter that has been firefighting a sliding currency and dwindling foreign currency reserves for years. That swap line has come under scrutiny under Trump, an ideological ally of Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei. Milei faces a tough juggling act, however, between his White House ally and China, which snaps up Argentine soy, beef and lithium. Argentina and China last year renewed the activated part of the currency swap through July 2026, which helped to defuse fears over a payment crunch. The central bank did say then it would gradually ramp that down to zero by mid-2026. Claver-Carone, asked about Argentina and its talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a new $20 billion loan program, said he hoped the talks ended in success, but that Washington was concerned about China's role in the country. "What we would like to see, eventually, is the end of the famous line of credit Argentina has with China," he said. "That line of credit is extortionate, and as long as they maintain that line of credit, China will always be able to extort." He did not give details about how the currency swap was extortionate, though the United States has long warned about what it calls Chinese debt diplomacy in Latin America. China says it offers tangible trade and investment to the region.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump envoy warns of ‘short-term pain' as administration cracks down on Cuba, Venezuela
A senior Trump administration official warned Cubans and Venezuelans on Thursday to brace for 'short-term pain' from measures aimed at increasing pressure on the authoritarian regimes in Havana and Caracas. Speaking at an event at Miami-Dade College, Mauricio Claver-Carone, special envoy for Latin America, defended President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, in particular its emphasis on deporting Tren de Aragua gang members, as part of a larger strategy to put pressure on Venezuela's strongman Nicolás Maduro. Claver-Carone suggested the Maduro regime is following the playbook used by Fidel Castro when he freed criminals from Cuban prisons and sent them as part of the about 125,000 Cubans who came to Florida during the Mariel boatlift in 1980. Unlike other presidents, who were not 'resolute enough' to send the criminals back, he said, 'President Trump is, so we're calling bullshit.' 'We understand there are challenges, and it's painful. There's short-term pain,' he added, speaking of emotions running high because of generalizations from administration officials depicting Venezuelans as criminals. 'But the other thing all of these regimes and dictators have also learned, starting with Cuba, is that the easiest thing to do is export your problem,' he said. 'So the way you have totalitarian control is, you don't like it, you leave. And that's what happened in Venezuela. That's what's happening in Nicaragua.' 'I can tell you this as a member of the Cuban American community, and it's been now 60 years. If you don't want to be 60 years in exile, then cut it off now, do the short-term sacrifices now, because if not, they're not going anywhere,' he said. Claver-Carone declined to comment on plans for a potential travel ban that would bar Cubans and Venezuelans from traveling to the United States, adding that the plans are still under discussion. Trump administration weighs barring Cubans, Haitians from U.S. as part of new travel ban The special envoy also said the administration is planning to ramp up pressure on the Cuban military as part of a more 'surgical approach' to sanctions and spoke of using more effective tools than those already written into the decades-old U.S. embargo. 'The Cuban government needs to understand that our tools and President Trump's will in this regard are different from what they have seen in the past,' he said, underscoring that leaders at the State Department, the Treasury Department and the Pentagon are aligned with Trump on Latin American foreign policy. The comment came after Miami Republican U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez sent a letter Thursday to the Treasury Secretary asking him to halt 'all travel to and from communist Cuba and eliminating remittances to the island.' When asked about the letter at the event organized by the World Affairs Council of Miami, Claver-Carone said he had not seen it. 'It's something that's always been talked about, and it's about the old tools,' he said. ' I think we can be more creative, but obviously, I understand. And it comes from a good place,' he said in reference to Giménez, the only Cuban American in Congress born on the island. However, throughout his remarks, Claver-Carone made clear that the administration is pursuing the 'maximum pressure' approach advocated by Giménez in dealing with Cuba and Venezuela. Speaking of lessons learn during the first Trump administration, in which he was involved in crafting U.S. policy toward Cuba and Venezuela at the National Security Council, Claver-Carone said officials in the second Trump administration will try to avoid 'plaguing whatever policies we do with loopholes. 'There's still going to be disagreements. There's always commercial interests,' he added. 'But it's either short-term pain for long-term gain, or you'll have long-term pain and no gain. In the short term, there are things that may seem upsetting or disruptive. But honestly, if you don't do it, it doesn't work. So we have to be all in, go big, or go home.'
