During his second term, President Donald Trump has authorized military action in a string of countries, including Iran, Venezuela, Ecuador, Nigeria, Somalia, and Yemen. Now, he’s hinted that Cuba could be next, declaring that the Caribbean island nation is “in its last moments of life.”
Trump delivered his stark warning during a Saturday speech in Florida, where leaders from several Latin American nations were gathered at his Doral resort.
There, he unveiled a new coalition called “The Shield of the Americas,” aimed at bolstering security across the Western Hemisphere. Kristi Noem has been tapped as a special envoy for the initiative, following her dismissal as Homeland Security secretary.
Upon taking the podium, the president said he is “looking forward to the great change that will soon be coming to Cuba.” He described the nation as “at the end of the line” and experiencing its “last moments of life.”
The country, which has been under communist rule since the 1959 Cuban revolution, has no money, no oil, and a “bad philosophy,” he continued.
While his administration is currently focused on Iran, Trump said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will “take one hour off and finish up a deal on Cuba,” adding, “That’ll be an easy one.”
Since returning to office, Trump has taken an aggressive posture towards Cuba. He’s slapped steep tariffs on the island nation and threatened to impose duties on goods from countries that export oil to Cuba. He’s also urged the communist state to “make a deal” or face unspecified repercussions.
The country’s president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, has frequently criticized the Trump administration’s hostile rhetoric.
“Cuba is a free, independent and sovereign nation. No one tells us what to do,” he wrote on X in January, adding that his government was “ready to defend the homeland to the last drop of blood.”
During the Saturday summit, Trump also signed a proclamation affirming his commitment to dismantling terrorist organizations and cartels that operate in the Western Hemisphere. Seventeen nations endorsed the effort through a joint security declaration signed on Thursday.
“We need your help,” Trump said to the leaders of Latin American nations. “You have to just tell us where they are.”
The new initiative comes as the Trump administration has demonstrated its willingness to take kinetic action across the hemisphere and beyond.
Earlier this week, U.S. forces undertook strikes in Ecuador aimed at combating drug cartels. In late February, the U.S. and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran, which has led to the deaths of hundreds of Iranians and at least six U.S. service members. Trump has said the campaign, dubbed “Operation Epic Fury,” could continue for weeks — if not longer. And, in January, U.S. special forces swooped into Venezuela, captured then-President Nicolas Maduro and extradited him to New York to stand trial on drug charges.
Democrats and some Republicans have slammed the recent military actions as illegal, reckless, and a direct betrayal of Trump’s campaign pledge to be the “candidate of peace” who would end “forever wars.”
The White House has rebutted criticism by saying Trump is protecting Americans by taking decisive action against imminent threats.
Recent polls show that at least some of the administration’s overseas actions are unpopular. Just one in four Americans supports Trump’s strikes on Iran, according to a Reuters survey conducted earlier this month.
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