Trump warns Cuba it could be Washington’s next target

U.S. President Donald Trump warned Cuba on Friday it could become Washington’s next target, raising fears of a new regional crisis.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Cuba could become Washington’s next target, raising the prospect of sharper pressure on Havana after recent U.S. military action against Venezuela and Iran. Speaking at an investment forum in Miami, Trump said he had built a strong military and “sometimes you have to use it,” before adding: “Cuba’s next.”

Trump’s comments came despite quiet contacts between Washington and Cuban officials in recent weeks aimed at preventing a deeper confrontation. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has acknowledged talks with the United States, while Reuters reported that senior figures in Cuba’s leadership remain involved in efforts to manage the crisis.

The remarks land at a time of severe economic and energy stress in Cuba, where the loss of Venezuelan oil supplies has pushed the island into one of its worst fuel shortages in years. Repeated power grid failures this month have left millions without electricity and deepened public frustration across the country.

Trump has previously hinted at stronger action against Cuba, and his administration has tightened pressure through an oil chokehold while also allowing limited fuel exports to parts of Cuba’s private sector. That dual-track approach has left open both the possibility of coercion and the space for a negotiated outcome.

The latest warning also reflects Washington’s increasingly aggressive regional posture, coming after U.S. military action in Venezuela and its month-long war with Iran. Analysts say Cuba’s strategic location, political symbolism and deepening vulnerability have made it a renewed focus of U.S. pressure.

Cuba has long been a flashpoint in U.S.-Latin America relations, with decades of sanctions, diplomatic ruptures and periodic crises shaping the bilateral relationship. Although military confrontation has remained unlikely for years, the current mix of energy collapse, political pressure and war rhetoric has revived old fears.

Havana has also sought outside help to ease the pressure, including outreach to the Vatican as it tries to navigate worsening shortages and the threat of deeper U.S. action. That reflects how seriously Cuban authorities appear to be taking the possibility of further escalation.

For now, it remains unclear whether Trump’s remarks were a negotiating tactic or a sign of concrete policy planning. But with Cuba already under severe strain and U.S. rhetoric hardening, the risk of a new crisis in the Caribbean is becoming harder to dismiss.

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