Trump Turns Up the Heat on Cuba After Maduro’s Fall

For Cubans, threats from Washington are nothing new. But this week, the tone and timing, felt different.

US President Donald Trump has issued one of his sharpest warnings yet to Havana, vowing to cut off all oil and financial flows to Cuba following the dramatic removal of Venezuela’s long-time leader Nicolas Maduro, a key ally of the island nation.

In a fiery post on his Truth Social platform, Trump urged Cuba to “make a deal” quickly, claiming that the island had survived for years on subsidised Venezuelan oil, a lifeline he now says is finished.

“THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO!” Trump wrote, offering no clear details about what deal he expects or what Cuba would receive in return.

Venezuela’s Collapse Changes the Equation

The threat follows a US special forces operation earlier this month that resulted in the capture of Maduro and his wife during a rapid raid that reportedly left dozens of Venezuelan security personnel dead, many of them Cuban.

Trump has since claimed that the United States effectively controls Venezuela, citing a naval blockade targeting the country’s oil sector. With Venezuela’s oil exports disrupted, Cuba’s most critical energy supply has suddenly been thrown into doubt.

For decades, Cuba has relied heavily on cheap Venezuelan fuel, a partnership dating back to the era of Hugo Chávez. In return, Havana provided security and intelligence support, an arrangement Trump now says is over.

Havana Pushes Back

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel wasted no time responding.

“No one tells us what to do,” he wrote on X, adding that Cubans were prepared to defend their sovereignty “to the last drop of blood.”

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez echoed the defiance, insisting Cuba has every right to import fuel from willing suppliers without bowing to US pressure.

The rhetoric has stirred strong reactions online, with Cuban officials framing Trump’s comments as a return to Cold War-style intimidation.

A Long History of Sanctions

The US trade embargo on Cuba has been in place since 1962, tightening and loosening depending on who occupies the White House. While sanctions have battered the island’s economy, Cuban leaders have survived decades of US pressure, a fact not lost on ordinary citizens.

On the streets of Havana, some greeted Trump’s comments with scepticism.

“Presidents have been threatening Cuba my whole life,” said 65-year-old retiree Mercedes Simon. “They talk, talk, talk, but nothing really changes.”

Others, like 21-year-old restaurant worker Marcos Sanchez, called for dialogue instead of escalation, saying both countries should find common ground without violence.

Political Applause Back Home

In the US, Trump’s tough stance has been praised by several Republican lawmakers, particularly those from Florida with strong Cuban-American support bases. Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart declared that Cuba’s government would not survive Trump’s second term.

Whether Trump’s latest threat marks a genuine turning point or another chapter in a long history of brinkmanship remains unclear. What is certain is that, with Venezuela no longer propping up Havana, Cuba is entering one of its most uncertain moments in decades and the pressure is only increasing.

{Source: IOL}

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