Cuba is on the brink of collapse - Trump 0 9

“Cuba is really a country that is very close to collapse,” Trump said during a visit to Iowa.

He noted that Cuba previously received money and oil from Venezuela, but no longer does.

In recent weeks, the U.S. has taken control of several oil tankers. Earlier, Trump announced that he would completely block all tankers under sanctions heading to or from Venezuela.

After the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during a U.S. special operation in early January, the Trump administration intensified its rhetoric against the Cuban government. For example, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the government in Havana “a huge problem.”

About a week after Maduro's capture, Trump urged Cuba to reach an agreement “while it’s still not too late,” without specifying what agreement he was referring to.

On his social media platform Truth Social, Trump also reposted several messages in which users speculated about a possible regime change in Cuba. One post jokingly suggested that Rubio could become the president of Cuba. “Sounds good!” Trump commented.

Relations between Havana and Washington have long been strained. Cuba is currently experiencing its worst economic crisis since Fidel Castro's revolution in 1959.

Although Venezuelan oil supplies have decreased in recent years and are partially compensated by supplies from Russia and Mexico, Cuba's economy could completely collapse if the U.S. fully halts oil supplies from Venezuela.