“THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO!” Trump posted on Truth Social. “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”
Cuba, a longtime ally of Venezuela, relied heavily on subsidized oil from Caracas. But since US forces captured Maduro earlier this month, shipping data indicates no crude has departed Venezuela for Cuba.
Trump said Cuba’s government would struggle to “hold out” without Venezuelan support, calling the island “ready to fall.”
He accused Cuba of providing security forces to prop up the Venezuelan regime, adding: “Most of those Cubans are DEAD from last week’s USA attack.”
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel responded defiantly, declaring on X that Cuba is “a free, independent and sovereign nation,” and vowing to “defend the homeland to the last drop of blood.”
Tensions rose further after Trump suggested US Secretary of State Marco Rubio could become Cuba’s new president. “Sounds good to me!” he wrote.
Meanwhile, the US State Department urged citizens to leave Venezuela immediately, warning that armed pro-regime militias were setting up roadblocks to search for Americans.
Caracas dismissed the alert, calling it “fabricated” and insisting the country remained in “peace and stability.”
Trump also revealed that Washington and Venezuela’s interim government are negotiating a USD 2 billion oil deal, with proceeds held in US-supervised accounts.
(jh/gs)
Source: PAP, The Guardian, Reuters