President Trump says he will “take care of Cuba” in speech to Latin American leaders
“We’re going to take care of Cuba,” President Donald Trump told a gathering of Latin American leaders, touting recent U.S. military operations in Venezuela and Iran.
President Donald Trump also warned of possible action in Cuba on March 7, when he joined Latin American leaders in Florida to launch a new coalition against drug cartels. The latest mention also warned of possibilities in Cuba, among a growing list of comments the president has made about the future of the island nation 90 miles from the United States.
President Trump’s comments, which referred to “big changes” coming to Cuba, came during remarks at the Shield of the Americas Summit on March 7. The daylong event, aimed at discussing strategies to strengthen U.S. leadership and coalitions in the Western Hemisphere, also included the leaders of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, and more.
The summit also saw the announcement of the Shield of the Americas, a coalition of like-minded Latin American countries that the Trump administration says was created to combat drug trafficking and solidify U.S. primacy in the Western Hemisphere. President Trump formally inaugurated his coalition government at a day-long, invitation-only summit at Doral Golf Club near Miami.
President Trump linked Cuba to recent U.S. actions in Venezuela following the raid by U.S. special forces that captured the country’s then-leader Nicolás Maduro in January, suggesting that changes could be coming soon on the island. All eyes have been on the island for much of 2026, with President Trump saying in late February that a “friendly takeover of Cuba” was possible as fuel shortages strained dictatorial Havana.
President Trump said on March 7, “As we achieve historic change in Venezuela, we also look forward to the great changes that will soon come to Cuba.” “Cuba is on the front lines and right at the bottom. They have no money. They have no oil. They have bad philosophy and have had bad regimes for a long time.”
The United States has put severe economic pressure on Cuba, which has long relied on oil shipments from longtime ally Venezuela. These shipments were blocked after Maduro’s arrest. However, the Trump administration eased the policy the week of February 23 as the crisis in Cuba worsened and the country suffered power outages.
In the weeks since then, President Trump has called on Cuban leaders to “make a deal,” and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American, said he was engaging with Havana “at a very high level.” He repeated these talks at the summit, at one point suggesting that Rubio take time off to “work out a deal with Cuba.”
“They want to negotiate, and they’re negotiating with Marco and me and some others. I think it’s easy to get an agreement with Cuba, but I’ve been listening to Cuba for 50 years,” Trump said at the summit. “Cuba is in the last moments of life as it is. A wonderful new life awaits, but as it is, it is in the last moments of life.”
In a moment that drew applause from the crowd, Trump added that he would “take care” of Cuba for the sake of other Latin American countries.
“Many of you here today are saying, ‘We want you to take care of Cuba,’ because you have a problem with Cuba. That’s what you said. I was surprised, but actually, four of you said, ‘Can you please do me a favor? Please take care of Cuba.'” I’ll take charge, okay? ” he said.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel reacted by condemning Trump’s comments on social media, writing that the summit and coalition showed Latin American leaders present would condone “the use of deadly military force to resolve domestic issues.”
“This is an attack on the Latin American and Caribbean (Zone of Peace) Declaration, an attack on aspirations for regional integration, and an expression of subordination to the interests of our powerful neighbors to the north, based on the precepts of the Monroe Doctrine,” he wrote.
President Trump has repeatedly linked U.S. actions to one of America’s most important foreign policy challenges of the 19th century, the Monroe Doctrine, which outlined how the U.S. government viewed Latin America as its strategic “backyard,” a region that should be under U.S. influence rather than Europe.
Although previous presidents have distanced themselves from this framework, President Trump has dubbed it the “Donroe Doctrine” and used it to justify operations in Venezuela. He also linked the name to a new leadership coalition, Shield of the Americas, on March 7 and on social media.
“As these situations in Venezuela and Cuba make clear, under our new principles, we will not allow hostile foreign influences to gain a foothold in this hemisphere,” Trump said at the summit. “We will not allow that to happen. Together, we will protect our sovereignty, our security, and our cherished freedoms and independence.”
Contributors: Katherine Palmer, Zach Anderson, Francesca Chambers, Rick Jarvis, Kim Helmgaard, Jamie Fraser, CA Bridges,
Kate Perez covers national trends and breaking news for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kperez@usatodayco.com or X @katecperez_.
