US President Donald Trump warned Cuba to negotiate with Washington, threatening to cut oil and financial support as pressure mounts over Venezuela’s oil following Nicolás Maduro’s capture and growing strain on Havana’s energy supplies.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday urged Cuba to negotiate with Washington, warning that the Caribbean nation would no longer receive oil supplies or financial support.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said Cuba would get “zero” oil or money going forward and advised Cuban leaders to reach an agreement with the United States before it was too late. He said the country had long depended on support from Venezuela.
Trump’s remarks come as Washington sharpens its focus on Venezuela’s vast oil resources. A US oil embargo on Venezuela has added strain on Cuba, which relies heavily on subsidised crude from the South American nation.
Repeating his claims a day earlier, Trump said Cuba had survived for years on Venezuelan oil and financial assistance. In return, he alleged, Havana provided security support to Venezuela’s last two governments — a relationship he claimed had now come to an end.
On Friday, Trump met senior executives from major oil companies at the White House as the United States moved to take control of Venezuela’s oil production and begin selling it globally. During the discussions, he indicated that the administration would soon decide which firms would be permitted to operate in Caracas.
Following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro last weekend, several Republican officials and lawmakers suggested that Cuba’s communist government could also face increased pressure. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking shortly after Maduro’s seizure, warned that Cuban leaders should be “concerned” about developments.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel strongly criticised Washington on Saturday, addressing a large rally in Havana near the US Embassy. He condemned the US action against Venezuela and described the detention of Maduro as an act of state terrorism.
“These actions represent a shocking breach of international law,” Díaz-Canel said, calling it a military assault on a peaceful country that poses no threat to the United States.
Venezuela currently supplies roughly 30 per cent of Cuba’s limited oil imports under an exchange arrangement that includes the deployment of thousands of Cuban medical workers to Venezuela. Analysts warn that any disruption in these supplies would severely damage Cuba’s fragile power grid and already strained energy sector.
Meanwhile, concern is growing among Cuban families over the safety of relatives working in Venezuela. Cuba’s health ministry said on Saturday that medical personnel stationed there were “well protected.”
With inputs from agencies
End of Article
