On January 13, president and CEO of the Inter-American Dialogue, Rebecca Bill Chavez, spoke with DW News to discuss why China and Russia are closely watching Trump’s threats to Cuba.

COMMENTS FROM CHAVEZ: 

“The other critical component of this alliance is Venezuela’s provision of subsidized oil to Cuba, which has been essential for the island. This arrangement began under Hugo Chávez and continued under Maduro. Cuba is already facing severe energy challenges, including rolling blackouts. Losing this supplier would significantly affect the regime’s ability to provide electricity and would also impact health care, transportation, and daily life more broadly.”

“The U.S. is not using all the tools at its disposal. In Venezuela, for example, there is severe instability and a broken oil infrastructure, yet we lack a fully functioning development arm, like USAID, that can deploy effectively. My concern is that we are underutilizing diplomacy and development as instruments of U.S. power.”

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE: