USS Nimitz carrier enters Caribbean as U.S.-Cuba tensions escalate

May 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. Southern Command released images of the arrival of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier in the Caribbean Sea amid escalating tensions and a pressure campaign driven by the Trump administration against Cuba.

"Welcome to the Caribbean, Nimitz Carrier Strike Group!" the U.S. Southern Command said in a social media post, adding that the USS Nimitz "has demonstrated its combat prowess around the world, ensuring stability and defending democracy from the Taiwan Strait to the Persian Gulf."

The U.S. military command, which includes the Caribbean within its area of responsibility, described the strike group as the "epitome of readiness and presence," with "unmatched lethality, reach and strategic advantage."

The deployment includes Carrier Air Wing 17, the guided-missile destroyer USS Gridley and the logistics ship USNS Patuxent.

The nuclear-powered Nimitz is also the oldest active aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy. The Southern Command did not disclose the vessel's exact location within Caribbean waters. It is scheduled to be decommissioned in March and is said to be on its final operational mission.

Separately, Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed skepticism Thursday about the possibility of reaching a diplomatic solution with Cuba. The United States continues its pressure campaign against the island, new economic sanctions and direct contacts with Cuban officials.

According to CNN en Español, Rubio said President Donald Trump still prefers a "negotiated and peaceful" solution.

However, Rubio said "the likelihood of that happening" is low because of Cuba's leadership, adding that its political and economic system "does not work."

Rubio also said there do not appear to be leaders in Havana willing to accept the changes demanded by Washington.

"They will not be able to wait us out or buy time. We are very serious; we are very focused," Rubio said before beginning an international tour.

The deployment announcement came hours after the Department of Justice revealed the indictment of former Cuban President Raúl Castro, who turns 95 on June 3.

The federal indictment includes conspiracy to murder U.S. citizens, four additional murder charges and two charges linked to the destruction of aircraft related to the 1996 shootdown of two planes operated by Brothers to the Rescue, an exile group..

Although he no longer serves as Cuba's president, Castro remains one of the figures with the greatest symbolic and political influence within the island's ruling system.

In response to the Department of Justice action, the Cuban government issued a public statement asserting that the U.S. government lacks legitimacy and jurisdiction to carry it out.

"This is a despicable and infamous act of political provocation, based on the dishonest manipulation of the incident that led to the shootdown over Cuban airspace in February 1996 of two aircraft operated by the Miami-based terrorist organization Brothers to the Rescue, whose repeated violations of Cuban airspace for hostile purposes were widely known," the statement said.

"Cuba is willing to discuss everything with the United States. There is no taboo subject in our conversation," Cuba's ambassador to the United Nations, Ernesto Soberón, told The New York Times on Wednesday.

He said Cuba is willing to implement changes to its economy and government, but does not believe Washington is participating in the talks in good faith.

Like other members of the Cuban government, Soberón accused Trump's administration of using "highly bellicose rhetoric" and said, in his view, "they are building different pretexts for military aggression against Cuba."

Although Soberón did not provide details about possible changes to Cuba's economy or political system, he did not rule out the possibility that such changes could occur in the coming weeks.