US President Donald Trump said on the 16th of march that Cuba is on the verge of collapse and that the US could take over the island, which is now largely in darkness, according to Politico.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump made an apparent veiled reference to Cuba’s communist leadership, saying that he believes he would be honored to take over Cuba and that he could do whatever he wanted with the country, whose oil reserves have been nearly depleted since the US operation in Venezuela and the subsequent fuel supply cut.
The BBC writes that before the US operation, Cuba received about 35,000 barrels of oil from Venezuela every day, which is half of the country’s needs. The US has intercepted a large number of oil shipments that were on their way to Cuba, and no oil shipments have reached the island in the past three months. On the 16th of March, the country’s power grid went out, leaving millions without power. Power is now being gradually restored.
Cuba, which has about 10 million people, has been plagued by power outages in recent years, sparking public discontent and rare protests.
Meanwhile, Trump has said he thinks Cuba is nearing its end,
Politico reports. “All my life I’ve been hearing about the United States and Cuba,” he said. “When will the United States do it? I do believe I’ll be the honor of — having the honor of taking Cuba.”
Asked what he meant by “taking over Cuba,” Trump said the United States would intervene in some way. He added that he could do whatever he wanted with a weakened Cuba: liberate it or take it over. The comments mark a threatening shift in tone. As recently as on the 13th of March, Trump had spoken of a friendly takeover of Cuba.
The US renewed pressure on Cuba in January when it launched a military operation in Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro, triggering Cuba’s worst economic crisis since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Cuban-American activists have urged Trump to pressure Cuba’s communist government in the hope of replacing it.
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