A pedicab passes by a traffic light that disappeared due to a power outage in Havana on March 4, 2026.
Yamil Raji | AFP | Getty Images
US President Donald Trump said the communist-ruled Caribbean island was in “serious trouble” and reiterated his threat of a “friendly takeover” of Cuba.
His latest comments come less than a week after he indicated his administration would turn its attention to Havana after the U.S. military operation in Iran ends.
The Trump administration had been trying to ratchet up pressure on Cuba since the Jan. 3 military operation to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a longtime ally of the Cuban government.
The United States has effectively cut off Venezuelan oil supplies to Havana, calling the country’s government an “extraordinary and extraordinary threat” and vowing to impose tariffs on countries that supply the country.
President Trump said Monday at a news conference in Doral, Florida, that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is addressing Cuba’s leadership as the country faces a deepening economic crisis.
“It may or may not be a friendly takeover. It doesn’t matter because, as they say, they’re on fire,” Trump said.
“They have no energy, no money. They are in serious trouble from a humanitarian point of view and we don’t want to see such a situation,” he added.
The Cuban government denies holding talks with the U.S. government, but has previously acknowledged “communication” between the two administrations.
A spokesperson for the Cuban embassy in London did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Since then, the U.S. president and his allies have spoken publicly about Cuba potentially becoming a major new foreign policy target.
“Cuba is next,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (RS.C.) said on Fox News shortly after the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran.
According to Politico, President Trump has previously said that if the Iranian regime collapses, “Cuba will collapse as well.”
Experts told CNBC that these comments, along with U.S. attacks on Iran and Venezuela, have done little to allay the growing fear in Havana.
Faced with a series of power outages and worsening fuel shortages, the Cuban government recently introduced rationing measures to protect essential services and fuel supplies to key sectors.
Late last month, the U.S. Treasury announced it would allow Venezuelan oil to be resold to the Cuban private sector.
