Trump warns Cuba to make a deal before it is too late

United States president Donald Trump gave a strong warning to Cuba following the military operation in Venezuela to capture leader Nicolás Maduro, saying the Caribbean island’s government needs to “make a deal before it is too late.” Cuba will no longer be receiving help from Venezuela in exchange for providing security forces for the Venezuelan leadership, Trump wrote in a post on his social network Truth on Sunday. “Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela. In return, Cuba provided ‘Security Services’ for the last two Venezuelan dictators,” he said, in reference to Maduro and late president Hugo Chávez. “BUT NOT ANYMORE!” Trump posted. “THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO! I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE,” he warned. The U.S. leader did not give details of what will happen to Cuba if they don’t reach a deal with his country.  Cuba replies However, Cuba seems to be preparing for a military operation similar to the one carried out in Caracas on January 3. On Saturday, the Cuban military carried out training exercises especially focused on territorial defense as part of activities for the National Defense Day. A statement by the central committee of the Cuban Communist party said that the training was particularly important in light of the recent U.S. announcements, without directly mentioning that country by name. “Being well-prepared in a systematic way, and being willing to die if needed, is the best signal you can give to an enemy that uses any sort of trickery in the hopes of submitting you to them,” said the statement. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel also seemed to address Trump’s statement with a post on X on Sunday. “Cuba is a free, independent and sovereign nation. No one tells us what to do,” he wrote. Díaz-Canel rejected Trump’s comments without mentioning him, saying that the economic hardship his country suffers is a result of the “extreme choking” measures carried out by the U.S. with its blockade on Cuba for the past six decades, “which it is now threatening with doubling down on.” “Cuba does not attack, it has been attacked by the U.S. for 66 years, and it doesn’t threaten, it prepares itself, willing to defend the homeland until the last drop of blood,” the Cuban president said. After the U.S. captured Maduro, Díaz-Canel said that 32 Cubans who were part of the Venezuelan president’s security team had died during the U.S. military operation in Caracas. In addition to the decades-old complications derived from the U.S. blockade, Cuba has been suffering an energy crisis since 2024, with mass power cuts that have become a constant in recent months. Around 60% of the country was left with no electricity on Christmas day, and outages can go for over 20 hours at a time. Venezuela was Cuba’s main oil provider. The crisis will likely worsen with Trump’s decision, as Cuba’s energy system is on the verge of collapse due to infrastructure issues, lack of funds to fix old equipment, and no money to buy oil elsewhere to generate electricity. U.S. protection In his post, Trump said that Venezuela “doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years” and that it now has the U.S. to protect them. “And protect them we will,” he added. Trump reposted on his Truth Social profile several replies from his followers regarding his Cuba post. In one of them, a user jokingly said that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio — the son of two Cuban exiles — should be president of Cuba. “Sounds good to me!” Trump wrote. He also shared an edited image of his Wikipedia page where a segment saying he is “Acting president of Venezuela” was added to the list of his public roles. The actual Wikipedia page does not show such information. You may also be interested in: How the US strike on Venezuela could affect Argentina’s oil industry Cover image credits: Khamenei.ir/Gage Skidmore