Former National Security Adviser John Bolton is sounding alarms over growing speculation that the Trump administration could take dramatic action against Cuba\u2019s communist leadership \u2014 warning officials not to repeat what he called the \u201cVenezuela game plan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bolton, who has long advocated for hardline policies against authoritarian governments in Latin America, said Thursday he fears the administration could use newly filed criminal charges against former Cuban leader Ra\u00fal Castro as justification for a high-risk operation targeting the aging strongman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m a little worried that they\u2019re going to try and run the Venezuela game plan and kidnap or snatch Ra\u00fal Castro, who\u2019s 94 years old, under this indictment, which is perfectly justified, but it won\u2019t change anything in Cuba, as it really hasn\u2019t changed anything politically in Venezuela,\u201d Bolton said during an appearance<\/a> on NewsNation’s On Balance<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His comments come as tensions surrounding Cuba have intensified after the Justice Department announced murder charges against Castro and five others tied to the 1996 shootdown of two civilian humanitarian aircraft over international waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Federal prosecutors allege Castro authorized the Cuban military operation that destroyed the planes, killing four men \u2014 including three American citizens. The aircraft were operated by Brothers to the Rescue, a Miami-based humanitarian group that searched for Cuban migrants attempting to flee the island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The indictment represents one of the most aggressive legal moves taken against senior Cuban officials in decades and has fueled growing speculation about whether the Trump administration is preparing a broader strategy aimed at regime change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bolton, despite supporting political change in Cuba, argued that removing a single figure would do little to dismantle the country\u2019s entrenched communist system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn Cuba, you need the top echelon of government to depart the island, maybe for exile in Mexico or wherever they want to go, and we have to have a way to bring the government back under the control of the people,\u201d he said, adding that such a process would \u201ctake some time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The administration has steadily increased pressure on Havana in recent months through legal, diplomatic, and economic measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A U.S. oil embargo implemented earlier this year has reportedly worsened Cuba\u2019s already severe energy shortages. The island nation of roughly 10 million people has faced repeated rolling blackouts, while shortages of food, fuel, and medicine continue to strain daily life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n President Donald Trump has also declined to rule out military action. Asked this week about possible intervention in Cuba, Trump told reporters he would \u201cbe happy to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n