After Venezuela, Trump puts Cuba in his sights and advises the island to negotiate, "before it's too late" .
The US president, in a post on Truth Social, wrote that for years Cuba lived "thanks to large quantities of oil and money coming from Venezuela" in exchange for "security services" for "the last two dictators" , but he stated that "now this will not happen again".
Why? Many of those Cubans "died" during the U.S. military action against Nicolás Maduro's regime, "and Venezuela no longer needs protection from the criminals and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years. Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the world (by far!), to protect it ."
Then, after reaffirming US control over Venezuela, Trump assured that now "there will be no more oil or money in Cuba – zero!" and advised the island to negotiate "before it's too late."
Shortly afterward, as if to double down on his threat, Trump reposted a message on social media suggesting that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, could be Cuba's new leader . The American president reposted user Cliff Smith's post on Truth, commenting: "That sounds like a great idea!"
The Cuban government's response, delivered through Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez , was immediate: "Cuba does not receive, nor has it ever received, monetary or material compensation for the security services it provides to any country, and, unlike the United States, it does not have a government that engages in mercenary activities, blackmail, or military coercion against other states. Law and justice are on our side, and the United States is behaving like a criminal and uncontrolled hegemon that threatens peace and security, not only in Cuba and in this hemisphere, but throughout the world ."
Rodriguez also asserted the island's right to "import fuel from those markets willing to export it and that exercise their ."
