Following the death of Fidel Castro on Nov. 25,
president-elect Donald Trump continued with his stern Cuba rhetoric,
threatening on Monday to terminate the 2014 deal to normalize relations between
the U.S. and the island country.
"If Cuba is unwilling to make a better deal for the
Cuban people, the Cuban-American people and the U.S. as a whole, I will
terminate deal," Trump said in a tweet.
Trump tweeted his comment on the same day that American and
JetBlue became the first airlines to launch commercial flights from the U.S. to
Havana since the onset of the U.S. trade embargo of Cuba in the 1960s.
Last month while on the campaign trail, Trump threatened to
undo the Obama administration's relaxation of Cuba travel and trade
restrictions, tweeting, "The people of Cuba have struggled too long. Will
reverse Obama's executive orders and concessions toward Cuba until freedoms are
restored."
Also, Trump commented on Castro's death with a Facebook post
on Saturday, writing, "Today, the world marks the passing of a brutal
dictator who oppressed his own people for nearly six decades. Fidel Castro's
legacy is one of firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and the
denial of fundamental human rights.
"While Cuba remains a totalitarian island, it is my
hope that today marks a move away from the horrors endured for too long and
toward a future in which the wonderful Cuban people finally live in the freedom
they so richly deserve.
"Though the tragedies, deaths and pain caused by Fidel
Castro cannot be erased, our administration will do all it can to ensure the
Cuban people can finally begin their journey toward prosperity and liberty. I
join the many Cuban Americans who supported me so greatly in the presidential
campaign, including the Brigade 2506 Veterans Association that endorsed me,
with the hope of one day soon seeing a free Cuba."