WASHINGTON, United States (CMC) — The Trump administration says it is ready to provide US$100 million in direct assistance to the Cuban people, if the Cuban regime permits it.

“The United States continues to seek meaningful reforms to Cuba’s communist system, which has only served to enrich the elites and condemn the Cuban people to poverty,” said the State Department in a statement on Wednesday.

“As US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said, the United States has also made numerous private offers to the Cuban regime to provide generous assistance to the Cuban people, including support for free and fast satellite internet and US$100 million in direct humanitarian assistance,” it added.

“The regime refuses to allow the United States to provide this assistance to the Cuban people, who are in desperate need of assistance due to the failures of Cuba’s corrupt regime,” the State Department continued. “Today, the Department of State is publicly restating the United States’ generous offer to provide an additional US$100 million in direct humanitarian assistance to the Cuban people that would be distributed in coordination with the Catholic Church and other reliable independent humanitarian organisations.”

The State Department said the decision rests with the Cuban Government to accept the offer of assistance or deny “critical living-saving aid and ultimately be accountable to the Cuban people for standing in the way of critical assistance”.