Maduro’s capture puts Cuba’s Venezuelan oil-dependent economy at risk
The U.S. military operation to apprehend and remove Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power could put pressure on Cuba's economy as the communist country reels from the loss of a key economic and security partner.
Maduro was captured alongside his wife over the weekend after President Donald Trump ordered the operation to take the couple into custody on charges related to a narcoterrorism conspiracy.
The ouster of Maduro threatens to unwind an economic partnership that was established by his predecessor, Hugo Chávez, whom Maduro succeeded in 2013.
Under the Chávez regime, Venezuela began supporting Cuba's economy with heavily subsidized oil in 1999, when he described the economic partnership as placing the two countries "in a sea of happiness."
AFTER MADURO, VENEZUELA FACES HARD CHOICES TO REBUILD ITS SHATTERED ECONOMY
While the Cuban government sent doctors to provide healthcare in Venezuela, it also sent security and counterintelligence personnel to help protect the Chávez regime from those seeking to topple it.
In exchange for those services, Venezuela sent 100,000 barrels of oil a day to Cuba — though The Wall Street Journal reported those volumes dwindled to about 30,000 barrels per day amid a U.S. crackdown on sanctioned Venezuelan oil.
The Trump administration sought to block those shipments, and the U.S. in December seized two oil tankers off of the coast of Venezuela amid a blockade implemented to stop the flow of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.
US NOW IN CONTROL OF VENEZUELA'S OIL RESERVES, THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD: CHART
Data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) shows that Cuba has been a net importer of energy for more than decades, as net energy imports accounted for 66.1% of Cuba's total energy supply in 2023.
Cuba's economy has been struggling amid the outmigration of its population, food shortages and blackouts caused by an unreliable energy grid.
The Journal reported that about a quarter of Cuba's population, over 2.7 million people, have left the island since 2020, according to Havana-based demographer Juan Carlos Albizu-Campos.
US OIL GIANTS MUM AFTER TRUMP SAYS THEY'LL SPEND BILLIONS IN VENEZUELA
Trump told reporters during a gaggle aboard Air Force One that he believes Cuba is on the brink of collapse after he was asked whether he's considering U.S. action against Cuba's government.
"I think it's just going to fall. I don't think we need any action. Looks like it's going down. It's going down for the count," Trump said.
TRUMP SAYS CUBA IS 'READY TO FALL' AFTER CAPTURE OF VENEZUELA'S MADURO
U.S. officials say Cuban security forces played a central role in keeping Maduro in power. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Cuban operatives effectively ran Venezuela's internal intelligence and security operations – including personally guarding Maduro and monitoring loyalty inside his government.
Cuba's government said on Sunday that 32 Cuban military and police officers were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela. Cuban state media said the officers had been deployed at the request of Maduro's government.
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Trump confirmed the Cuban casualties, saying that, "A lot of Cubans were killed," and that there "was a lot of death on the other side. No death on our side."
Fox News Digital's Bradford Betz contributed to this report.