President Donald Trump reportedly delivered a blunt warning to Cuba on Sunday, urging the communist government to strike a deal with the United States and declaring that the long-standing flow of oil and money from Venezuela to Havana is over.
In a series of posts on his Truth Social platform, Trump laid out the consequences of recent U.S. actions in the region, arguing that Cuba’s influence in Venezuela collapsed the moment the United States arrested longtime Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. Trump said that with Maduro removed, there is no longer any need for Cuban security forces to prop up the regime.
“Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela,” Trump wrote. “In return, Cuba provided ‘Security Services’ for the last two Venezuelan dictators, BUT NOT ANYMORE!”
The president said that during last week’s U.S. military operation to extract Maduro, American forces swiftly eliminated the Cuban personnel who had been providing security for the regime. Trump claimed that those forces are no longer a factor and that Venezuela does not require protection from what he described as extortionists who held the country hostage for years.
“Most of those Cubans are DEAD from last week’s U.S.A. attack, and Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years,” Trump wrote. He added that Venezuela is now under the protection of the United States, calling America “the most powerful military in the World (by far!)” and pledging continued support.
Trump then issued his most direct warning yet to Havana. “THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO!” he declared. The president said Cuba should move quickly to negotiate with Washington, warning, “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”
Earlier in the day, Trump amplified a post from conservative columnist Marc Thiessen, who noted that the Cuban regime has survived every U.S. president since Dwight Eisenhower and suggested it would be remarkable if that streak ended with Trump. When online jokes followed about Secretary of State Marco Rubio someday becoming president of Cuba, Trump responded succinctly: “Sounds good to me.”
The president’s remarks on Cuba came amid continued updates on developments inside Venezuela following Maduro’s removal. On Saturday evening, Trump said interim leaders in Caracas had already begun cooperating with the United States and were releasing political prisoners — a move he said exposed years of denial by the Maduro regime, which had long claimed Venezuela did not hold prisoners for political reasons.
“Venezuela has started the process, in a BIG WAY, of releasing their political prisoners,” Trump wrote. He thanked the interim authorities and issued a stark message to those being freed.
“I hope those prisoners will remember how lucky they got that the USA came along and did what had to be done,” Trump said. “I HOPE THEY NEVER FORGET! If they do, it will not be good for them.”
Taken together, Trump’s comments signaled a dramatic shift in U.S. policy toward both Venezuela and Cuba, cutting off what he described as a critical lifeline to the Cuban regime while positioning American power as the dominant force shaping the region’s future.
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