Trump urges Cuba to ‘strike a deal, before it’s too late’

Donald Trump has urged Cuba to “come to an agreement” or risk facing repercussions, cautioning that the supply of Venezuelan oil and cash would be halted.

The US president has shifted his focus to Cuba following the US military’s capture of Venezuela’s leader Nicolás Maduro in a raid on the capital, Caracas, on 3 January.

Venezuela, a long-time ally of Cuba, is estimated to provide approximately 35,000 barrels of oil daily to the island.

In response, Cuba’s foreign minister asserted that the country reserves the right to procure fuel “without outside interference”, while the president declared: “No one dictates our actions.”

The strategy employed by the Trump administration, which involves confiscating sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers, is exacerbating the ongoing fuel and electricity crisis in Cuba.

On Friday, it took control of a fifth oil tanker it claimed was transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela.

“Cuba depended for years on substantial amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela. In exchange, Cuba offered ‘Security Services’ to the last two Venezuelan dictators, BUT THAT IS NOT THE CASE ANY LONGER!” Trump stated on Truth Social on Sunday.

“THERE WILL BE NO OIL OR MONEY HEADING TO CUBA – ZERO! I strongly recommend they negotiate a deal, BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.”

Trump did not clarify the specifics of a deal or the possible repercussions for Cuba.

However, Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez remarked that the island nation holds “the complete right to import fuel” from any willing supplier “without interference or submission to the unilateral coercive measures of the United States”.

He emphasized that, unlike the US, Cuba does not yield to “coercion or military pressure against other nations”.

Trump also referred to the operation that resulted in the capture of Maduro and his spouse, Cilia Flores, who are currently facing drug trafficking and various charges in the US.

Cuba has for years provided Maduro with his personal security team. The Cuban government stated that 32 of its citizens lost their lives during the US operation in Caracas.

Trump commented: “Most of those Cubans are DEAD from last week’s USA attack, and Venezuela no longer requires protection from the thugs and extortionists who held them captive for so many years.

“Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most potent military in the World (by far!), to safeguard them, and we will protect them.”

Rodriguez claimed Cuba has “never received financial or material compensation for the security services it has rendered to any country”.

While the Trump administration has not defined explicit plans regarding Cuba, the US president has previously noted that military intervention was unnecessary as the nation was “on the verge of collapse”.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested last week that Cuba’s leaders should be anxious, stating he would be “worried” if he were part of the Cuban government, noting that “they’re in a significant predicament”.

On Sunday, Trump also re-shared a social media post proposing that Rubio – a Cuban-American former senator from Florida and child of Cuban exiles – might become president of Cuba.

Trump accompanied that post with the remark: “Sounds good to me!”

Trump has increasingly styled US policy through the framework of a revitalized 1823 “Monroe Doctrine,” which asserts US dominance in the western hemisphere, rebranding it the “Donroe Doctrine”.

The recent months of US foreign strategy have notably emphasized Latin America and the leftist leaders with whom he has ideological discord, with US actions framed as efforts against drug trafficking.

Following the unprecedented raid on Caracas, Trump indicated that a military operation targeting Colombia “sounds appealing” and has persistently warned its President Gustavo Petro to “be cautious”. The US imposed sanctions on Petro – Colombia’s inaugural left-wing leader – in October, accusing him of permitting drug cartels to “thrive”.

Trump further remarked that drugs were “flowing” through Mexico into the US, stating “we’re going to have to take action”. The US president mentioned he has proposed to dispatch US troops to Mexico to tackle the cartels, but President Claudia Sheinbaum has publicly rejected any US military presence on Mexican territory.

US-Cuba relations have been fraught since Fidel Castro, a communist, overthrew a US-supported regime in 1959.

Although efforts were made to improve diplomatic ties, especially under former US President Barack Obama, the Trump administration has undone many of these advances.

Shortly after beginning his second term, Trump reinstated Cuba’s classification as a state sponsor of terrorism, which had been removed just days earlier by then-President Joe Biden.

Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel stated on Sunday: “Those who commodify everything, including human lives, hold no moral authority to criticize Cuba for anything, whatsoever.

“Those who rant furiously against our nation do so out of fury over the sovereign choice of this people to select their political model.”