Donald Trump has suggested the United States could carry out a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, as relations between Washington and Havana sink to a new low following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Speaking as he left the White House for a campaign event in Texas, the US president said the Cuban government was “talking with us” and was “in a big deal of trouble”.
Trump did not elaborate, but reports have indicated that US officials met with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, grandson of former Cuban leader Raúl Castro, on the sidelines of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) summit to discuss opening up the island. “They have no money, they have no anything right now,” Trump said. “But they’re talking with us and maybe we’ll have a friendly takeover of Cuba.”
The president’s remarks come as the US has increased pressure on Cuba after the successful abduction of Maduro, a key ally, in January. Washington secured cooperation from Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, who promised to open up the country’s oil reserves to foreign companies. The US has also imposed an oil blockade on Cuba, strangling its already fragile economy and cutting off Venezuelan oil exports.
Trump’s language has sparked concerns among Cubans of a repeat of history, recalling US financial domination before Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has previously insisted that any talks must respect Cuba’s sovereignty and internal affairs. Some analysts, like Professor Manuel Barcia of the University of Bath, see a “Cuba’s Berlin Wall moment” looming, while others, such as Pedro Freyre, a lawyer for companies doing business on the island, interpret the comments as signalling an economic opening akin to Venezuela’s recent transition.
The US president has long relied on electoral support from the Cuban exile community in Miami, many of whom dream of ending communist rule. Trump suggested a takeover could be “something good” for them, allowing exiles to return. Meanwhile, US chargé d’affaires in Havana, Mike Hammer, is undertaking an international tour to engage the Cuban diaspora, likely to ease acceptance of any policy shift.
