US Must Defend Economic, Religious Freedom in Western Hemisphere, Cuba - Trump

The US government must fight to preserve political, economic and religious freedoms wherever they are threatened in the Western Hemisphere, including in Cuba, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump told a rally in the US state of Florida.

WASHINGTON, September 28 (Sputnik) — Trump further stated that the US government should tear up its new agreements with Cuba if Havana does not act to provide freedom, including full religious and economic rights for its people.

"My administration will be a voice against oppression in this hemisphere," Trump said at Orlando-Melbourne International Airport in Florida on Tuesday night. "[I] will be a voice for freedom for people in Cuba."

Trump reiterated his claim that he would scrap the agreements President Barack Obama has negotiated with Cuba "unless we get the deal that we want and that includes protecting the economic and religious freedoms of the Cuban people."

Earlier on Tuesday, Obama announced he had selected Jeffrey DeLaurentis to be the first US ambassador to Cuba for more than half a century.

The two countries re-established full diplomatic ties in July 2015. However, De Laurentis still has to be confirmed by the Republican-controlled US Senate.