Pompeo "ignorant" of Cuba's history, says Cuban president

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has blamed Washington's misguided foreign policy toward Cuba on ignorance.

Recent comments and proposals by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo show he is "ignorant" of Cuba's history, Diaz-Canel said via Twitter.

"Pompeo, ignorant of the history and principles of the Cuban Revolution, proposes negotiating a reconciliation in exchange for abandoning the path chosen by our people, suggests betraying our friends and denying 60 years of dignity," said Diaz-Canel.

Pompeo recently said that free and fair elections in Venezuela would not be possible as long as Cuba continued to support President Nicolas Maduro.

He also accused Cuba of controlling Venezuela's political elite, army and intelligence services.

His statements have been widely condemned by senior Cuban officials who have demanded Washington present evidence of Cuba's alleged military presence in Venezuela.

The unsubstantiated claims were followed by sanctions against Cuban officials involved in the island's program of medical diplomacy.

According to Pompeo, Cuban doctors are forced to participate in the program, working long hours in sometimes dangerous areas to advance what he called the Cuban government's "political agenda."

On Wednesday, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez criticized Pompeo's statements and qualified them as "cynical, demagogic and lies."

"He can no longer hide the true purposes of the U.S. policy that intends to starve our people and cause destabilization and regime change. There is an evident gap between what they say and what they do," Rodriguez said via Twitter.

Cuba-U.S. relations have deteriorated under U.S. President Donald Trump, whose administration has reversed the normalization of ties spearheaded by his predecessor Barack Obama.