donald Trump affirmed that his Administration has exerted strong pressure on Cubaand that the island’s government “hangs by a thread” due to recent events in Venezuela.
The US president acknowledged during an interview this Thursday that Washington has practically no cards left against the island, with the exception of direct military intervention, but he avoided threatening one at this time and He considered that Havana “is very close” to falling without the support of Caracas.
“I don’t think you can exert much more pressure except to go in and destroy the place,” Trump responded to a question from conservative commentator Hugh Hewittser about the possibility of imposing a naval “quarantine” on Cuba, similar to the one applied to Venezuela.
In this context, the Republican He maintained that the island depended economically on Caracas and that that relationship was broken after the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.
“All their lifeblood, all their life was Venezuela. They had the oil, the money from Venezuela,” he assured Hewittser. according to the portal RT.
Trump also said that Cuba lost “many soldiers” during the US military intervention on January 3, which led to the kidnapping of Maduro, and once again praised the US armed forces for that action.
The United States moves part of its military fleet in the Caribbean to the north of Cuba
Trump on Cuba: “They are tough, a tough people. A great people”
During the interview, the US president was convinced that the Cuban Government could face a quick fall and, at the same time, he praised the strength of the Cubans.
“Yes, Cuba is hanging by a thread. Cuba is in serious trouble,” he declared, while considering Cubans “a tough people.”
“They are tough, a tough people. A great people,” he said, according to RT.
He also added that, although for decades there has been talk of a terminal crisis on the island, he now considers that the country “is very close” to an outcome caused by its own internal situation.
In the same conversation, Trump avoided confirming direct intervention in Cuba, but made it clear that his policy of pressure will continuereviews, for its part, the agency, EFE.
This assessment coincides with what the president himself expressed in recent days, when he assured that the island was “about to fall” due to the loss of Venezuelan oil support.
Trump linked any eventual change of government in Havana to the fall in economic support from Venezuela, after the capture of Maduro and Washington’s progress in political and economic agreements with the interim Executive of Caracas.
Trump Administration demands that Venezuela cut off with Cuba and other allies to reactivate oil
Venezuela, USA and Cuba
Cuba and Venezuela maintain a close alliance, established in the early 2000s with energy and social cooperation agreements promoted by Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro. However, it remains to be seen how the recent US attack and Trump’s demands for Caracas to cut off with Havana and other allies could affect those ties.
The January 3 attack left 32 Cubans dead, according to the Cuban Government, according to which the dead were soldiers carrying out missions in Venezuela under agreements with the Chavista authorities.
The US policy of pressure on the island intensified in 2025, after the return of Donald Trump to the White House. The Republican returned Cuba to the list of countries that sponsor terrorism, reversed Biden’s few changes and established new sanctions.
In June of last year, Trump signed a memorandum to toughen sanctions against Cubaprohibiting financial transactions with entities controlled by the Cuban Government, reinforcing the prohibition of tourism and increasing the supervision of travel and economic operations related to the island, the agency recalls. EFE.
Beyond Cuba, in his interview this Thursday Trump also took the opportunity to threaten to unleash “hell” against Iran if the authorities of that country kill protesters, in an additional example of the confrontational tone that has characterized its recent foreign policy.
