AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman.

At the United Nations General Assembly, a number of Latin American leaders condemned the U.S. for unilaterally attacking boats in the Caribbean. The Pentagon recently sent warships to the region after Trump secretly authorized the use of military force in Latin America under the guise of the “war on drugs.”

The bombing campaign began earlier this month when the U.S. blew up a boat carrying 11 people off the coast of Venezuela. President Trump claimed the boat was carrying drugs from Venezuela, but offered no proof of the claim. Number of experts believe, looking at the video, that the boat passengers may have been migrants.

This is Colombian President Gustavo Petro addressing the United Nations.

PRESIDENT GUSTAVO PETRO: [translated] The young people killed by missiles in the Caribbean did not belong to the Tren de Aragua gang. Perhaps nobody here even knows their names. Nor to Hamas. They were from the Caribbean, possibly Colombians. And if they were Colombians, with apologies to those who dominate the United Nations, criminal proceedings should be opened against those U.S. officials responsible, including the top official who gave the order, President Trump.

AMY GOODMAN: Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez also condemned the U.S. strikes in the Caribbean.

BRUNO RODRÍGUEZ: [translated] The interception and destruction of boats, the extrajudicial killing of civilians, the interception of fishing vessels and aggressive actions by the United States in the eastern Caribbean create a dangerous situation that threatens regional peace and security. I reiterate Cuba’s unconditional solidarity with President Nicolás Maduro Moros, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the civil-military union of its people.

AMY GOODMAN: For more, we’re joined by Carlos Fernández de Coccío, Cuba’s deputy foreign minister, here in our New York studio.

Welcome back to Democracy Now! It’s great to have you with us. If you can start off by responding to the U.S. bombing these boats, most often linked to Venezuela, and boarding a fisherman’s boat, what you think is U.S. plans, and what is Cuba’s response?

CARLOS FERNÁNDEZ DE COSSÍO: Well, thank you for having me.

We believe that the whole military presence in the southern Caribbean — extraordinary and extravagant, in our opinion — is a threat to Venezuela and to the countries of the region. There’s no real reason for that to be there, and the justification that they’re fighting drugs or organized crime is believed by no one. The attack on the boat, an extrajudicial attack, it’s unacceptable, on international — based on international law, and, we guess, on the U.S. domestic law. They’re assassinating people for no reason, without evidence and without showing what’s the reason why they will try to attack these people.

AMY GOODMAN: So, how are Latin American leaders organizing at this point?

CARLOS FERNÁNDEZ DE COSSÍO: The region has — the majority of the governments in the region have expressed their concern. There are instances of making — of concerting ideas in the region, through CELAC, through Alba. But there’s not today a full consensus on how to deal with this issue.

AMY GOODMAN: You may have heard that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has summoned hundreds of generals and admirals to a base in northern Virginia next week for an unprecedented meeting of the nation’s military. Do you have any idea what that is about?

CARLOS FERNÁNDEZ DE COSSÍO: We have seen that the politicians and the public in general in the United States is questioning what’s the reason for this, and we’re following it. Truly, we don’t have — we don’t see a reason. It could be of a domestic nature, or it could be the attempt of doing something outside of the United States.

AMY GOODMAN: The strikes appear to have been outside of any declared war zone, targeting civilians who pose no immediate threat. Legal experts say such extrajudicial killings violate both U.S. and international law. Very interestingly, there are Republicans, as well as Democrats, who have condemned what President Trump is doing. And we just heard Gustavo Petro. He has called for criminal proceedings against the Trump administration over the military strikes in Venezuela. You are a close ally of Venezuela. Nicolás Maduro has offered, attempted diplomacy. The White House said it has dismissed an office from Maduro to engage in direct talks with President Trump aimed at deescalating the U.S.-Venezuela relationship. What do you think has to happen now?

CARLOS FERNÁNDEZ DE COSSÍO: I believe there has to be a responsible attitude from the United States. In the case of Cuba, any aggression or any threat of aggression to any Latin American or Caribbean nation will, of course — will imply that we have full solidarity with the nation under threat or under aggression. We believe that the international community should send a clear message, not only Latin America and the Caribbean, to the U.S. that violating international law, carrying out aggressions and threats of aggression goes against the U.N. Charter and against the principles with which the international community should live.

AMY GOODMAN: I want to ask you about another issue that came up this week. President Trump held a news conference at the White House promoting the unproven claims that the common painkiller Tylenol causes autism in children if taken during pregnancy. So, why would I be asking you about this? You’re not a doctor, and you’re not from the United States. But during his comments, President Trump brought up Cuba.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: There are parts of the world that don’t take Tylenol. I mean, there’s a rumor — and I don’t know if it’s so or not — that Cuba, they don’t have Tylenol, because they don’t have the money for Tylenol. And they have virtually no autism. OK? Tell me about that one.

AMY GOODMAN: Is this true, though?

CARLOS FERNÁNDEZ DE COSSÍO: First, I’m not surprised. Americans, in general, politicians included, are frequently ill-informed or misinformed about Cuba, because there’s a lot of propaganda regarding Cuba that distorts reality. In Cuba, first of all, we produce acetaminophen, and acetaminophen is prescribed to the population as a respected painkiller. And in Cuba, we have autism. In fact, we have a very strong program of autism that covers the whole country. Because of the nature of our public health system, we have the exact number; it’s not estimated. We have the exact number of people who suffer autism. We have special schools, special programs, special clinics, special programs that go down to the community. It’s quite well treated. And we have even cooperation with other countries around the world regarding the issues of autism.

AMY GOODMAN: Finally, when President Trump took office, he reinstated Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. Is that going to change?

CARLOS FERNÁNDEZ DE COSSÍO: We hope so. The only link of Cuba with terrorism is as a victim of terrorism carried out by the United States for years, sponsored by the government the United States. Today, where it’s allowed, there are people living in the United States that finance, organize and carry out violent and terrorist actions against Cuba. That exists today. We’re not saying that today the government is participating, but the government is tolerant with those people.

AMY GOODMAN: Many people have been concerned that President Trump is so concerned about the Epstein files — and I’m sure you’ve read about that, his relationship with this sex offender — that he will do anything to distract attention, and that these bombings of the boats are a way to prod Venezuela, and perhaps even Cuba, a close ally of Venezuela, to attack back, which would then, of course, divert all attention to what’s happening in Latin America and the U.S. relationship. Your response?

CARLOS FERNÁNDEZ DE COSSÍO: It could be the case. It wouldn’t be the first time in the history of the United States when something like this occurs. And we do understand, as I said at the beginning, that the current military presence in the southern Caribbean is totally unjustified. It’s extravagant, and it’s extraordinary, and it’s threatening to the people of the region.

AMY GOODMAN: I want to thank you for being with us. Carlos Fernández de Cossío is Cuba’s deputy foreign minister.

That does it for our show. Democracy Now! is produced with Mike Burke, Renée Feltz, Deena Guzder, Messiah Rhodes, Nermeen Shaikh, María Taracena, Nicole Salazar, Sara Nasser, Charina Nadura, Sam Alcoff, Tey-Marie Astudillo, John Hamilton, Robby Karran, Hany Massoud and Safwat Nazzal. Our executive director is Julie Crosby. Special thanks to Becca Staley, Jon Randolph, Paul Powell, Mike Di Filippo, Miguel Nogueira, Hugh Gran, Carl Marxer, Denis Moynihan, David Prude, Dennis McCormick.

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