Cuba denies contacts with the United States about the future of Venezuela

(Patria) - Cuba has denied contacting the United States about what the region would look like without President Nicolas Maduro at the helm of Venezuela, calling the media report 'absurd and false', Reuters reported.

Cuba's Deputy Foreign Minister, Josefina Vidal, stated on Monday for the
Associated Press that these alleged talks, first reported by Reuters on Friday based on two sources who declined to remain anonymous, did not take place.

'Cuba rejects as absurd and false press reports claiming... about alleged contacts between Cuban officials and the government of the United States to resolve internal matters that are exclusively the responsibility of the Venezuelan government.'

Cuba did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for further comment.

The Donald Trump administration has in recent months launched an offensive against alleged drug trafficking vessels elsewhere in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing dozens of people with targeted missile strikes, while accusing Maduro, a key ally of Cuba, of profiting from the trade. Cuba has criticized those attacks and accuses the United States of seeking the violent overthrow of the Venezuelan government amid a dramatic escalation of American firepower in the Latin American region.

A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department accused Cuba and Venezuela of destabilizing the entire hemisphere.

'The Trump administration remains committed to ensuring the safety of Americans from the threat of hostile regimes,' the spokesperson said, adding that this includes Trump's aggressive anti-drug campaign in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.

The White House did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

Senior law enforcement officials in Cuba said last week that Havana prioritizes the fight against drug trafficking in the Caribbean and continues to provide information to the U.S. Coast Guard. Vidal told the Associated Press that 'belligerent sectors' of the United States are conducting a smear campaign designed to create a rift between Cuba and Venezuela and provide a pretext for U.S. aggression in the region.

'Cuba rejects attempts to tarnish its clean record of fighting for peace in Latin America and the
Caribbean and against drug trafficking,' Vidal said.