Trump Says Cuba Is 'Next' as US Tightens Oil Blockade
Speaking at an investment forum in Miami, Trump framed the warning within a broader celebration of what he called the "success" of his hardline foreign policy doctrine — a record that includes the January abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and last month's decision to launch military strikes against Iran in the midst of active nuclear negotiations.
"I built this great military. I said you'll never have to use it. But sometimes you have to use it. And Cuba's next, by the way," Trump told the assembled audience.
He then appeared to walk back the remark — before immediately reaffirming it. "But pretend I didn't say that. Please pretend I didn't say it. Please, please, please, media, please disregard that statement. Thank you very much. Cuba's next," he added.
The declaration comes even as Havana signals openness to diplomacy. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel stated his government's willingness to "find solutions through dialogue to the bilateral differences we have between the two nations" — an offer that Washington appears to be disregarding entirely.
Trump has made no secret of his hostility toward Havana. He has repeatedly threatened to "take" Cuba "in some form," coupling those warnings with the imposition of a sweeping oil blockade and tariffs targeting any nation that continues supplying fuel to the island.
The economic consequences are already devastating. Cuba's former energy lifeline, Venezuela — once its closest regional ally — halted oil shipments to Havana following sustained pressure from Washington. The fallout has been immediate and severe: chronic fuel shortages and cascading power outages have plunged the country into crisis in recent months.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez responded sharply on Saturday, condemning what he described as Washington's "ferocious blockade" of fuel supplies and characterizing it as a "brutal onslaught" against the nation's economic foundations.
"For more than 67 years, the US has imposed economic warfare against Cuba with the intention to harm the economy and deny access to markets and technology," Rodriguez wrote in a statement posted to X, contending that such "ruthless aggression" against the supposedly weak Cuban government in fact reveals Washington's own vulnerabilities.
In response to the mounting pressure, Cuba has mobilized nationwide civilian-military exercises drawing on reservists and local defense units — a direct activation of its so-called "war of the entire people" defense doctrine.
Yet for ordinary Cubans, the crisis is not new — it is a deepening of conditions that have long defined daily life on the island. The average monthly wage stands at approximately 6,830 Cuban pesos, the equivalent of just $30 on informal exchange markets. Families have survived for years on remittances wired home by relatives living abroad. In the two years preceding the current energy emergency, net emigration from Cuba exceeded 500,000 people — a staggering flight that underscores just how dire conditions on the ground have become.
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