President Donald Trump says Cuba is about to fall apart and the United States may be “taking over” the island nation.
Trump, speaking to reporters Monday at the White House, issued what appeared to be a coded warning to Cuba’s communist leadership as the country faces an island-wide power outage amid an economic crisis.
The president said he believed he would have the “honor to take over Cuba,” and added “I can do whatever I want with” the country, which has been running out of oil after the United States forced Venezuela to end critical aid to the Caribbean island.
“I think Cuba is seeing the end,” he said. “All my life I’ve been hearing about the United States and Cuba. When is the United States going to do that? I believe I’ll be honored to—have the honor of taking Cuba.”
Asked to clarify what he meant by “taking over” Cuba, which has been controlled by the current communist government since 1959, Trump indicated that the US would intervene “in some way.”
“If I free it, take it – I think I can do whatever I want with it, you want to know the truth. It’s a very weak nation right now,” he said.
The comments mark a more ominous change of tone from the president, who said Friday that a“friendly transport” of Cubait may be possible.
The United States has put new pressure on Cuba in January when it launched an operation to arrest Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, causing the island’s biggest economic crisis since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Cuba was heavily dependent on Venezuela for oil imports before Maduro’s ouster. Trumphe told POLITICO’s Dasha Burnsin early March the US was “talking to Cuba” and that he believed intervening in Venezuela would put more pressure on Cuba.
“It’s because of my intervention, the intervention is happening,” Trump said. “Obviously, otherwise they wouldn’t have this problem. We cut off all the oil, all the money, … everything coming from Venezuela, which was the only source.”
Cuban-Americanactivists have encouraged Trumpto put pressure on the communist government in hopes of bringing about a change in leadership.
