Trump tells Cuba to ‘make a deal’ and warns Venezuelan oil and money will stop

Donald Trump told Cuba to “make a deal” or face unspecified consequences, posting on Truth Social that “THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO!” He added: “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” The comments came as the island, a close ally of Venezuela and major beneficiary of its oil, faced uncertainty after Nicolás Maduro was deposed as the South American nation’s leader.

Trump provided no details about what form such a deal could take. Shipping data shows that no cargoes have left Venezuelan ports headed to Cuba since last week’s capture of Maduro by US forces, amid what the report described as a strict US oil blockade. Dozens of Venezuelan and Cuban security personnel were killed in the US raid, after which Trump said Cuba was “ready to fall” and said it would be difficult for Havana to “hold out” without cheap Venezuelan oil.

He reposted a message suggesting the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, could become Cuba’s new president, writing “Sounds good to me!”, and later posted that Cuba had “lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela” and provided “Security Services” but “NOT ANYMORE”, adding “Most of those Cubans are DEAD from last week’s USA attack”.

Cuba’s foreign minister, Bruno Rodríguez, said the island had not been compensated for security services, accused the US of behaving in a “criminal” manner and said Cuba had the right to import fuel from any country.

Key Topics

World, Donald Trump, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, Marco Rubio