President Donald Trump said Friday that “Cuba will fall soon,” a renewed threat to the communist-ruled island, which already faces a U.S. energy blockade.
“They want to make a deal so bad,” Trump said in an interview with CNN a day after suggesting he would turn to an unspecified project for Cuba after the Iran war.
“We have a lot of time, but Cuba is ready — after 50 years,” Trump said, explaining that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be his point man in Cuba.
Both Trump and Rubio — the son of Cuban immigrants — have made no secret of their desire for regime change in Havana.
Washington has imposed an energy blockade on the Caribbean nation, which has seen its fuel supplies plummet following the capture of US President Nicolas Maduro from Venezuela – a key oil supplier to Cuba.
No oil has been imported into Cuba since January 9, forcing airlines to cut back on flights to the island and deepening a long-running economic crisis.
Havana accuses Trump of trying to strangle the Cuban economy.
The island, which has been subject to a US trade embargo since 1962, has been mired in a severe economic crisis for years marked by prolonged power outages and shortages of fuel, medicine and food.
