Biden says sending U.S. forces to Haiti "not on the agenda at this moment"

                                                            

Washington — President Biden said Thursday that sending American forces to Haiti "is not on the agenda at this moment." Haiti had asked the U.S. and U.N. for military forces to help secure the nation's major infrastructure in the wake of the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse days ago.

Mr. Biden told reporters at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the U.S. is only sending American Marines to the embassy in Haiti to make sure it's "secure and nothing is out of whack at all."

At the same time, Cuba has recently seen a wave of protests over food shortages, rising prices, and the government's failure to arrest rapidly spiking COVID-19 infections.  Asked about Cuba and communism by CBS News Radio White House correspondent Steven Portnoy, Mr. Biden said, "Communism is a failed system. A universally failed system. And I don't see socialism as a very useful substitute." 

Mr. Biden said he'd be willing to give "significant amounts of vaccine" to Cuba, but only "if in fact, I was assured an international organization would administer those vaccines and do it in the way that average citizens would have access to those vaccines." 

During the news conference, the president also touched on doubts about the infrastructure and "human" infrastructure proposals that are expected to be considered by the Senate in the coming days. 

"Look, I understand why the press, among others, is skeptical that I can actually get this deal done on infrastructure and on human infrastructure," Mr. Biden said. "I've watched and listened to the press to declare my initiative dead at least 10 times so far. I don't think it's dead. I think it is still alive. I still have confidence we are going to be able to get what I have proposed and what I have agreed to in a bipartisan agreement on infrastructure." 

President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Angela Merkel hold a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House, July 15, 2021.SAUL LOEB/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

He said of the GOP senators who are part of the bipartisan infrastructure deal, "I trust the members of the Republican senators who have made the commitments relative to how we should proceed and what would be included in the package for infrastructure. They're men and women of honor, and I expect they would keep their commitment."