Trump Issues Warning to Cuba

(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump declared that Cuba will no longer receive Venezuelan oil or financial support, urging Havana to strike an agreement with Washington “before it’s too late.”

Cuba, a longstanding ally of Venezuela and a major recipient of its subsidized crude, has faced a sharp decline in shipments since early January.

Data from shipping records indicate that no oil tankers have departed Venezuelan ports for Cuba following the abduction of President Nicolas Maduro by American forces, as a stringent US-led blockade effectively froze deliveries.

On Sunday, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: “THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO!”

He added that “Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela,” while pressing the island to negotiate “BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”

Earlier this month, a US raid resulted in the deaths of dozens of Venezuelan and Cuban security personnel. Trump later claimed that Cuba was “ready to fall,” pointing to its severe economic crisis and predicting that Havana would struggle to survive without Venezuelan subsidies.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel firmly rejected Trump’s ultimatum, insisting that Washington lacked the moral authority to dictate terms.

“Cuba is a free, independent and sovereign nation. Nobody dictates what we do,” Diaz-Canel wrote on X, stressing that the island has endured decades of US pressure and would defend itself if necessary.

Meanwhile, reports suggest that Caracas and Washington are progressing on a $2 billion arrangement under which Venezuela would deliver up to 50 million barrels of crude to the United States, with revenues managed through Treasury-supervised accounts.

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