Trump Ignites New "War" with Communist Cuba Rather Than Iran
Tensions between the United States and Cuba have escalated over recent months. Most recently, US President Donald Trump reignited “war” rhetoric by stating, “I can do whatever I want with Cuba.”
Trump made this threat even as Cuba and the US opened discussions to improve their strained relationship.
“I am confident I will get the honour of taking over Cuba. It is a great honour. Taking over Cuba in some form,” Trump said, according to Reuters on Wednesday, 18 March 2026.
Cuba faces an unprecedented economic crisis, which has been exacerbated by an oil blockade from the US following the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
After Trump spoke to journalists, the New York Times reported that removing Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel from office is the primary US objective in bilateral talks.
Citing four sources familiar with the negotiations, the Times stated that America has signalled to Cuban negotiators that Díaz-Canel must step down.
Cuba traditionally rejects any interference in its internal affairs and views such proposals as obstacles to any agreement.
Díaz-Canel, who succeeded the late Fidel Castro and his brother Raúl Castro as president in 2018, stated last Friday that he expects talks with the US to proceed “on the basis of equality and respect for both nations’ political systems, sovereignty, and self-determination.”
However, Trump appears unsympathetic to this position. After ousting Maduro from power and joining Israel in attacking Iran, Trump has openly stated that Cuba will be “next.”
He has intensified pressure by halting all Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba and threatening tariffs on any nation selling oil to Cuba.
As a result, Cuba has reported receiving no oil shipments for three months, and the nation has imposed strict energy rationing, resulting in prolonged blackouts.
Much of its economy has ground to a halt. On Monday, 16 March, Cuba’s electrical grid collapsed, leaving the nation of 10 million people without power.
On Sunday, 15 March, Trump told journalists aboard Air Force One that his administration is in talks with Cuba, but emphasised he will handle Iran before Cuba.
Although US presidents over recent decades have opposed Cuba’s communist government and criticised its human rights record, Washington has respected a commitment made during the Cuban Missile Crisis resolution in 1962 not to attack Cuba or support any invasion, as part of an agreement with the Soviet Union.
The White House has not detailed the legal basis for potential intervention in Cuba. The Cuban government did not respond to requests for comment.