Politics

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that Cuba will no longer receive Venezuelan oil or money. He urged the Communist-led island to negotiate with Washington, increasing pressure on a long-time adversary and eliciting a strong response from Cuban officials. Venezuela is Cuba's primary oil supplier; however, since U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in early January, no oil shipments have left Venezuela for Cuba due to a strict U.S. oil blockade, according to shipping data. At the same time, Venezuela and the U.S. are working on a $2 billion agreement to send up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil to the United States, with funds going into accounts overseen by the U.S. Treasury. This deal will test the new relationship between Trump and interim President Delcy Rodriguez. On his Truth Social platform, Trump declared, “THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO! I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” He also noted, “Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela.” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel responded to Trump's warning on social media, arguing that the U.S. lacks the moral right to impose a deal on Cuba. “Cuba is a free, independent, and sovereign nation. Nobody dictates what we do,” Diaz-Canel stated on X. He added, “Cuba does not attack; it has been attacked by the U.S. for 66 years, and it does not threaten; it prepares, ready to defend the homeland to the last drop of blood.” While Trump did not provide details about his proposed deal, his stance on Cuba marks a significant escalation in efforts to align regional powers with the United States and highlights the administration's goal to assert influence over the Western Hemisphere.