Overview
- In a phone interview with CNN, President Trump said Cuba is “gonna fall pretty soon” and added he will “put Marco [Rubio] over there,” while stressing the administration remains focused on the Iran war first.
- Washington’s energy squeeze has left Cuba without reported oil tankers since January 9, triggering widespread fuel shortages and power outages that a U.N. official recently described as a deteriorating situation.
- The cutoff followed the U.S. capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, which helped end subsidized Venezuelan oil to Cuba, and reporting cites U.S. maritime interdictions and secondary tariffs aimed at isolating other suppliers.
- Trump has floated the prospect of a “friendly takeover” and signaled Rubio will be his point person for engagement, though no public plan for a U.S. military invasion has been announced.
- The U.S. Embassy in Havana said its Cuba coordinator met Catholic Church leaders to discuss humanitarian aid and the “need for change,” underscoring parallel diplomatic and relief efforts alongside economic pressure.