President Trump says the US “may visit Cuba” after the Iran war ends
President Donald Trump said the United States “may stop in Cuba after we finish” the Iran war.
Cuba, 90 miles off the coast of Florida, is an island that has become a focus of President Donald Trump in recent days, and an ongoing pressure point for Cuban-Americans, some of whom told USA TODAY they feel increasingly alienated from the country just a short plane ride away.
As tensions between the U.S. and Cuba escalate under the Trump administration, including new talk of blockades, takeovers, and regime change, some, including Cuban-American Miami native Andrew Otazo, feel the distance between them is greater than ever. Otazo, 39, grew up hearing stories about his family’s time there, but Cuba remains an unfamiliar place to him. There’s a melancholy sense of disconnect in those stories, complicating America’s ever-strained relationship with the island.
That emotional distance has deepened in recent months. With power outages worsening the situation on the ground and talks between the two governments reportedly continuing, Cuban Americans say this feels like a tipping point, with many torn between cautious hope, fear and deep skepticism.
“I have no hope for the Cuban people,” Otazo told USA TODAY. “Cuba is a giant weeping scar on the body of Cuban Americans. It’s a tragedy.”
Tensions rise between the US and Cuba
Tensions between the United States and Cuba have peaked in recent weeks following President Trump’s oil blockade earlier this year, which caused widespread power outages and increased strain on the country’s already deteriorating infrastructure.
On May 1, President Trump imposed expanded sanctions targeting individuals and groups supporting the Cuban government. The executive order singled out individuals who are complicit in “government corruption and serious human rights violations.”
The U.S. and Cuban leaders reportedly held multiple talks in the wake of the blockade, presenting multiple options for what to do with the island, ranging from pursuing an economic deal to regime change to U.S. military operations.
Guillermo Grenier, a Cuban-American and professor of sociology at Florida International University, told USA TODAY that what to do with the island is a common question for many in the Cuban community. Some people support isolating the island to force regime change, he said, while others hope that U.S.-Cuba relations will improve the situation at home.
Grenier said what unites the community is a desire for change, but Cubans are divided on the best way to achieve it.
“Now it looks like change is coming,” Grenier said. “What’s happening now is different, this moment is different than any moment since the Cuban Revolution, and the relationship between the United States and Cuba…I think there’s a sense in the community here, everyone is very, very optimistic, but also very fearful.”
Grenier said the recent oil blockade has further exhausted the island’s already exhausted population, effectively forcing government intervention and negotiations between the two countries. Even if the U.S. and Cuba reach an agreement, the Cuban-American community as a whole would not be satisfied, given how divided the island is on how to approach the relationship, he said.
“There are no heroes here.”
Grenier’s concern is political violence. While some may be happy to see a peaceful transition, with the United States forging an economic deal with a weakened current government, others may be dissatisfied and will not relent until Cuba’s leadership collapses. Additionally, a U.S. takeover of Cuba or its economic system would also likely provoke a negative reaction, he said.
“I think it’s going to create more conflict in the future than it needs to be. But the fact is, I don’t see why that would be inevitable if the United States were to intervene and start controlling the Cuban economy again,” Grenier said. “If we wait a few decades, there will be another Cuban revolution.”
Like many in the Cuban-American community, Grenier, who was born in Havana and came to the United States in the 1960s, is feeling the weight of uncertainty. Although he was initially hopeful about the possibility of action, his feelings of excitement changed.
“When I first heard that something was going to happen, I was kind of encouraged because I knew Cubans really needed something,” Grenier said. “But when you think about it, you think, ‘What happens next?’ It’s so overwhelming and obviously… there are no heroes here, no clear path.”
Some Cuban Americans are concerned and wary during takeover negotiations
The sense of uncertainty was echoed by 26-year-old Austin Ybarra, who told USA TODAY that “it feels like some kind of inflection point or tipping point,” but he doesn’t know what direction it will take.
While he would like to see an end to U.S. sanctions, the removal of Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, and the ability for Cuba to engage in relations and business with other regions, he acknowledged that these agreements likely would not come with concessions that would satisfy all Cubans. Like Grenier, Ibarra said he could not see a world in which Cuban dissidents would “actively deal with the Communist Party in power.”
“I think no matter how entrenched they are and how desperately they are set up for regime change, it will only lead to further lack of reconciliation. I think that’s fine,” Ibarra said. “I don’t think there will be reconciliation between people who want this kind of suffering for a particular purpose because their interests are different.”
More than that, he said, U.S. exchanges do not necessarily guarantee a better life for Cubans.
“Cuba cannot be free if the conditions of ‘freedom’ are imposed on Cuba by the power of the United States,” Ybarra said. “At this point, even if the siege were to be broken, it would not necessarily mean true freedom, true self-determination for the Cuban people.”
Nikki Gonzalez, a 31-year-old Cuban-American living in Washington, D.C., hopes that U.S. involvement in Cuba will have a positive effect. He said the best course of action would be to reach a territorial agreement similar to the one the United States has with Puerto Rico.
“We don’t want to end up in a situation like what’s happening now in Venezuela or what’s happening in the Middle East, where we come in and overthrow the government and then just leave everyone alone,” Gonzalez said. “If you leave space, a lot of negative things can happen and anyone can take the lead…Communism is bad. We know (Cuban President) Miguel Diaz-Canel, it’s all bad. But who knows if there’s something worse.”
The Cubans Gonzalez knows are the ones who figure in stories shared by families who left the island. Although she feels the island will never be the same, she hopes a way back can be found that does not come at the expense of the Cuban people, such as travel to the island or spending money to support the current government.
“I would like to see the borders open so we can travel there and see it as the strong island it once was,” Gonzalez said.
U.S. interests in Cuba remain uncertain, Otazo said. He said he does not believe U.S. involvement is in the Cuban people’s interests and doubts anyone on the island would gain anything from President Trump’s potential actions. He added that even if the United States and Cuban Americans were to reconcile with the island, it would not be the same place it was when thousands fled Cuba decades ago.
“For me personally, it’s this vacuum, because the Cuba of my parents doesn’t exist… and never will. Because of that, I’m rootless,” Otazo said. “I have a connection to the Cuban people through our shared ethnicity and history, but no, it’s really tragic and I don’t see a way out of it. I want Cuba and the Cuban people to prosper. Donald Trump is not the person to do that.”
Kate Perez covers national trends and breaking news for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kperez@usatodayco.com or X @katecperez_.
