Trump issues ultimatum to Cuba

The US president has urged Havana to strike a deal with Washington “before it is too late”

US President Donald Trump has said Cuba will no longer receive Venezuelan oil and money, warning the island to do a deal with Washington “before it’s too late.”

Cuba, a close ally of Venezuela and a major beneficiary of its subsidized oil, has seen supplies from the OPEC nation dry up since early January. Shipping data show no crude cargoes have left Venezuelan ports for the island since President Nicolas Maduro was abducted by American forces, as a strict US-led oil blockade brought deliveries to a halt.

“THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, adding that “Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela.”

“I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE,” he added.

Dozens of Venezuelan and Cuban security personnel were killed in the US raid earlier this month, after which Trump said Cuba was “ready to fall,” citing the island’s deep economic crisis and warning that Havana would struggle to endure without subsidized Venezuelan oil.

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Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel rejected Trump’s threat, saying Washington had no moral authority to impose a deal on Havana. “Cuba is a free, independent and sovereign nation. Nobody dictates what we do,” Diaz-Canel wrote on X on Sunday, adding that the island had been under US attack for decades and would defend itself if necessary.

Caracas and Washington meanwhile are reportedly moving forward on a $2 billion deal under which Venezuela would supply up to 50 million barrels of crude to the US, with proceeds held in Treasury‑supervised accounts.

Senior Trump officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have made clear they believe that the US intervention in Venezuela could push Cuba to the brink. American rhetoric toward Havana has sharpened in recent weeks. The US has kept a comprehensive trade embargo on the Caribbean nation since the 1960s. While the Obama and Biden administrations took steps to normalize relations, Trump reinstated Cuba on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism.