President Donald Trump said Friday the United States could carry out a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, citing direct talks with the island’s government as the communist nation faces acute shortages of money, fuel and food. “The Cuban government is talking with us, and they’re in a big deal of trouble,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House for a trip to Texas.
“They have no money. They have no anything right now, but they’re talking with us, and maybe we’ll have a friendly takeover of Cuba.” Trump added that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is handling the matter “at a very high level” and suggested the development could prove positive for Cuban exiles in the United States who want to return home.
The comments mark the latest escalation in U.S. pressure on Havana. Cuba lies roughly 150 kilometers off Florida’s coast and has endured a deepening energy crisis since the United States blocked Venezuelan oil shipments in January following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
On Wednesday the U.S. Treasury Department eased one element of that restriction. It issued guidance authorizing companies to apply for licenses to resell Venezuelan-origin oil for commercial or humanitarian use in Cuba’s private sector. Transactions benefiting the Cuban military, government institutions or entities on the U.S. restricted list remain prohibited.
Rubio, speaking the same day at a Caribbean Community summit in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis, said Cuba’s government bears responsibility for the humanitarian crisis and must make “dramatic” changes.
U.S. officials close to Rubio met Wednesday on the summit sidelines with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, grandson of former Cuban leader Raúl Castro, according to the Miami Herald. Rodríguez Castro holds no formal government position but is viewed as an influential figure close to his 94-year-old grandfather.
Axios reported Feb. 18 that Rubio had already been in contact with Rodríguez Castro, bypassing official Cuban government channels. The Cuban government has stated it is not engaged in high-level talks with Washington, though it has not directly addressed reports of informal contacts with Rodríguez Castro.
Trump’s remarks come against a backdrop of renewed U.S. measures. Since taking office, the administration has tightened travel and trade rules, reinstated Cuba on terrorism-related lists and warned third countries against supplying oil to the island. Caribbean leaders at the Saint Kitts and Nevis summit expressed concern that Cuba’s instability could affect the wider region. Rubio reassured them that U.S. policy aims to support the Cuban people while pressing for reform.
Trump did not define what a “friendly takeover” would involve. He has long criticized the Cuban government established after the 1959 revolution and has repeatedly said the island is on the verge of collapse. Cuban exiles in Miami, many of whom fled the Castro era, have welcomed the intensified pressure. Several Florida lawmakers have called for the current leadership to step aside so the United States can assist the Cuban population directly.
What happens next remains unclear. The Treasury’s licensing policy for limited oil resales takes effect immediately but depends on private-sector buyers in Cuba having the funds to purchase supplies. No timeline has been given for any broader negotiations or policy shifts.
Havana has implemented emergency measures to manage blackouts and fuel shortages, but officials there continue to attribute the crisis largely to the U.S. embargo. Trump’s Friday comments drew immediate attention across Latin America and among Cuban-American communities. They signal that Washington sees an opening to reshape relations with the island after decades of standoff.
