President Trump steps up military threats to Mexico, Cuba, Colombia
After detaining Venezuela’s president, President Trump suggested other countries in the region could take military action next.
President Donald Trump said Sunday that no more Venezuelan oil or money would be sent to Cuba, suggesting the communist-run island strike a deal with the United States, located 90 miles off the coast of Florida.
Oil supplies to Cuba have decreased since Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was detained on January 3, as Venezuela is Cuba’s largest oil supplier. The US attack has raised questions about the control and potential sale of the country’s oil, with President Trump telling the New York Times earlier this week that the US intends to extract oil from Venezuela and sell it around the world for years.
The president took to the Truth social media platform on January 11 to urge Cuba to reach an agreement with the United States.
“Zero oil and zero money going to Cuba! I strongly suggest a deal before it’s too late,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, without elaborating on a future deal for the island nation.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned Trump’s comments on social media, writing: “Those who make business out of everything, even human life, have no moral authority to criticize Cuba for anything, anything at all.” More than 20 members of the Cuban military and intelligence services were reportedly killed in the U.S. attack on Venezuela that led to Maduro’s capture.
“Cuba is a free, independent and sovereign nation. No one dictates what we do,” Díaz-Canel continued on X. “Cuba has not attacked. We have been attacked by the United States for 66 years, and we have not threatened. We are prepared and ready to defend our homeland to the drop of our blood.”
The social media post is the Trump administration’s latest move to target Cuba following Maduro’s detention amid a long history of tensions, trade sanctions and embargoes between the two countries dating back to the 1950s. President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have both made harsh statements about Cuba, with the president saying last week that Cuba’s government and economic system were on the verge of collapse.
President Trump said, “Cuba is ready to collapse.” “Cuba seems ready to collapse. I don’t know if they’ll hold out. But Cuba has no income right now. They get all their income from Venezuela, from Venezuelan oil. They’re not receiving any of it. And Cuba is literally ready to collapse.”
Mr. Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants and a key architect of the attack on Venezuela, has long been a critic of the Cuban government.
Rubio called Cuba a “disaster” and issued a warning to the country during a Jan. 3 news conference as President Trump and senior administration officials discussed the attack on Venezuela.
“If I lived in Havana and was part of the government, I would be at least a little concerned,” Rubio said.
Cuban leader: Island has ‘absolute right’ to supply fuel
Cuba’s leadership insists that Cuba has the “absolute right” to import fuel from countries it wishes to export fuel to, while developing trade relations “without interfering with or being subject to unilateral (US) coercive measures,” the country’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said in a separate post on X Sunday.
Rodriguez added that Cuba does not receive financial or material compensation for the security services it provides to any country.
“Rights and justice are on Cuba’s side. (The United States) is behaving like a criminal, uncontrollable hegemon that threatens not only Cuba and the peace and security of this hemisphere, but the entire world,” Rodriguez wrote.
Cuba relies on imports of crude oil and fuel, primarily supplied by Venezuela and a small amount purchased from Mexico on the open market to keep its own generators and vehicles running, but supplies from Venezuela have declined in recent years, Reuters reported.
Still, the island is dependent on Cuba’s oil supplies, which made up about 26,500 barrels a day exported last year, according to ship tracking data and internal documents from state-run PDVSA, which covered about 50% of Cuba’s oil shortage, Reuters reported.
Alberto Jimenez, 45, a produce seller in Havana, said Cuba would not back down in the face of Trump’s threats.
“I’m not scared of that. I’m not scared at all. The Cuban people are ready for anything,” Jimenez said.
Cubans have endured many hardships in recent years, including frequent and prolonged power outages. People have left Cuba in droves over the past five years, many blaming the country’s unstable economic system and food insecurity.
Meanwhile, Mexico has emerged as an alternative oil supplier to the island in recent weeks, but shipping data shows supplies remain low. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her country had become an “important supplier” of crude oil to Cuba, although it was not increasing supplies.
Maria Elena Sabina, a 58-year-old Havana resident and parking attendant who was born shortly after Castro took office, said it was time for Cuban leaders to make a change amidst such suffering.
“We don’t have electricity, we don’t have gas, we don’t even have liquefied gas. There’s nothing here,” Sabina said. “Yes, we need change, we need change, and soon.”
Contribution: Bart Jansen for Reuters, USA TODAY, Joey Garrison
Kate Perez covers national trends and breaking news for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kperez@usatodayco.com or on Twitter @katecperez_.
