Washington DC [US], May 23 (ANI): US Senator Lindsey Graham on Friday (local time) said Cuba would soon be free from communism amid growing rhetoric from American lawmakers and Cuban officials.

Graham said in a post on X, 'I believe the liberation of the wonderful people of Cuba from the clutches of communism is close at hand. Cuba Libre.'

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US Representative Carlos A Gimenez also voiced support for political change in Cuba.

'SOS Cuba: 'And now, the end is near. And so I face the final curtain. My friend, I'll say it clear: I'll state my case, of which I'm certain. I did it my way.' Cuba will be free thanks to the merits of countless people inside and outside of Cuba. Not much longer,' Gimenez said in a post on X.

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Meanwhile, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel criticised the United States and accused officials in Washington of fuelling hostility towards the island nation.

'That Cuba represents a threat to the U.S. can only exist in the sick minds of some officials in the current U.S. administration who have hijacked policy toward our island, who shamelessly lie to the people of that nation and the world to justify a new irrational war with a high potential cost in human lives for both countries,' he said.

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The Cuban President's Office said that over 250,000 Cubans gathered to condemn the alleged accusation against Army General Raul Castro Ruz.

In a post on X, the office said, 'More than 250,000 Cubans gathered this morning at the historic Anti-Imperialist Tribune to condemn the alleged accusation against Army General Raul Castro Ruz, Leader of the Cuban Revolution. Along with them was President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez.'

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The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See Brian Burch held talks with Cuban pro-democracy leader Jose Daniel Ferrer.

In a post on X, he said, 'Honored to meet with Cuban pro-democracy leader Jose Daniel Ferrer, who has endured first-hand the repressive nature of the Cuban regime. Ferrer is a man of profound faith, a courageous Cuban dissident who was forced into exile for demanding basic freedoms.'

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Earlier on Thursday, US President Donald Trump said the United States wants to help Cuba on humanitarian grounds amid the country's ongoing economic and power crisis.

Speaking to reporters, Trump dismissed speculation that the deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz near the region was aimed at intimidating the Cuban government.

'No, not at all. The Cuba look, it's a failed country. Everybody knows it. They don't have electricity, they don't have money, they don't have really anything. They don't have food. And we're going to help them along and we're going to help them because the people because number one, I want to help them on a humanitarian basis,' he said. (ANI)