Trump threatens Cuba: Make a deal before it's too late
"NO MORE OIL OR MONEY WILL FLOW TO CUBA - ZERO!"
Photo: AP Photo/Alex Brandon
U.S. President Donald Trump has again turned his attention to Cuba.
"For many years, Cuba lived on large volumes of oil and money from Venezuela. In turn, Cuba provided 'security services' to the last two Venezuelan dictators, but this will no longer be the case!" — Trump wrote on his social media.
"Venezuela is now defended by the United States of America, which possesses the most powerful armed forces in the world (to date!), and we will defend them. NO MORE OIL OR MONEY WILL FLOW TO CUBA - ZERO! I strongly recommend them to make a deal BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE," Trump added.
For many years, Cuba received oil from Venezuela (and less from Mexico). And Cubans were part of Nicolás Maduro's personal security detail. During the American operation to capture Maduro, 32 Cubans were killed.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel reacted to Trump's words. "Cuba is a free, independent, and sovereign country. No one dictates to us what to do," he wrote on X. "Those who turn everything into business, even human lives, have no right to tell Cuba anything, absolutely nothing."
Trump has not yet spoken about specific plans regarding Cuba. Interestingly, the current U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is the son of Cuban migrants.