United States President Donald Trump issued an ominous new threat against Cuba on Friday, declaring that the Caribbean island nation is "next" in line for American military aggression, following the January raid that seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the ongoing war against Iran launched on February 28. Speaking at the Saudi-backed FII Priority investment forum in Miami, Trump told the audience, "I built this great military. I said, 'You'll never have to use it,' but sometimes you have to use it. And Cuba is next, by the way. But pretend I didn't say that". The Republican president then instructed the media to "disregard that statement" before repeating "Cuba's next" to laughter from the audience, adding a mocking reference to the Strait of Hormuz which he dubbed the "Strait of Trump".
The threat comes amid mounting pressure from Washington, which has imposed a de facto oil blockade since January and has mused about "taking" the country. The Trump administration has systematically targeted Cuba's energy lifeline, with the United States now threatening tariffs on any country supplying oil to the island. This "secondary sanctions" approach effectively forces third-party nations to choose between trade with the United States or maintaining commercial relations with Cuba. Cuba imports approximately 60 percent of its petroleum, and reports indicate that the country's oil reserves can only last 15 to 20 days under current conditions. The energy crisis has already caused two nationwide blackouts in a single week, with hospitals, schools, and basic public services facing severe disruption.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has responded with defiance, declaring last week that any external aggressor would face "unbreakable resistance". Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío confirmed Sunday that Cuba's military is actively preparing for the "possibility" of military aggression from the Trump administration. "In the face of the worst scenario, Cuba is accompanied by a certainty: any external aggressor will clash with an impregnable resistance," Diaz-Canel stated, dismissing Washington's threats.
Cuban Ambassador to Brazil Adolfo Curbelo Castellanos has characterized the US economic and energy blockade as a "genocidal policy" designed to deprive the Cuban people of their means of subsistence. "Without energy, everything is compromised. What they did was condemn the Cuban people to extermination," Curbelo told Agência Brasil, noting that a country like Cuba, which needs oil to generate electricity, is being systematically prevented from importing it in the exercise of its sovereign right. The United Nations has warned that Cuba faces "dire" supply shortages, with more than 50,000 surgeries cancelled as fuel supply constraints and aging infrastructure cause repeated nationwide blackouts. Since the US seized Venezuelan President Maduro in January and cut off the supply of oil from Venezuela, Cuba's longstanding regional ally, the humanitarian situation has deteriorated sharply.
Despite Washington's attempts to isolate the island, international solidarity with Cuba continues. Two sailboats that were part of an international convoy delivering medical supplies, food, solar panels and other goods to Cuba were reported missing earlier this week but have since been located by the Mexican Navy, with all nine crew members, from Poland, France, Cuba and the United States confirmed safe. The "Nuestra America Convoy" spokesman confirmed that the vessels, Friendship and Tiger Moth, "remain on track to complete its mission, delivering urgently needed humanitarian aid to the Cuban people". Earlier this week, the Cuban government warmly received another boat carrying 14 tonnes of aid, dubbed "Granma 2.0" after the vessel that carried Fidel Castro to launch the 1959 revolution.