United States President Donald Trump has issued a serious warning to Cuba, stating that “make a deal” or face sanctions, indicating that the supply of Venezuelan oil and financial support would cease.
The US president has shifted his focus to Cuba following a US operation that targeted Venezuela’s leader Nicolás Maduro on January 3.
Cuba, a long-time ally of Venezuela, is estimated to receive about 35,000 barrels of oil daily from the country, but Trump has announced that this will come to an end.
“Cuba has relied for many years on significant amounts of oil and money from Venezuela. In exchange, Cuba provided ‘security services’ for the last two Venezuelan dictators, BUT THAT WILL NO LONGER BE THE CASE!” he stated on Truth Social on Sunday.
“There will be no more oil or money going to Cuba—none! I strongly recommend they negotiate a deal BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.”
Trump did not clarify what the deal would entail or what consequences Cuba might face.
He also mentioned the operation to capture Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who are facing drug trafficking and other charges in a US court.
For years, Cuba has provided Maduro with personal security. The Cuban government reported that 32 of its nationals were killed during the US operation in Caracas.
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Trump remarked, “Most of those Cubans are DEAD from last week’s US attack, and Venezuela no longer requires protection from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so long.”
“Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the world, to protect them, and we will ensure their safety.”
The Cuban government has not yet responded to Trump’s latest threats, but President Miguel Díaz-Canel previously stated that the 32 “brave Cuban combatants” who died in Venezuela would be honored for “confronting the terrorists in imperial uniforms.”
While the Trump administration has not outlined specific plans for Cuba, the president has previously suggested that military intervention is unnecessary because the country is “on the verge of collapse.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated last week that Cuba’s leaders should be apprehensive, expressing that he would be “worried” if he were part of the Cuban government and that “they’re in a lot of trouble.”
On Sunday, Trump also shared a post on social media suggesting that Rubio—a Cuban-American former senator from Florida and the son of Cuban exiles—could become Cuba’s president, adding, “Sounds good to me!”
The Trump administration’s strategy of seizing sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers has already exacerbated a fuel and electricity crisis in Cuba.
