United States President Donald Trump said he expects to have the “honour of taking Cuba”, after a U.S.-imposed oil blockade plunged the country into darkness due to a total power blackout.
“Whether I free it, take it, I think I can do anything I want with it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“They’re a very weakened nation right now.”
Trump also said he could do “anything (he) wants” with Cuba, amid U.S. negotiations with Havana over the country’s future.
The New York Times also reported that U.S. officials told Cuba to remove its president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, from power during recent talks, citing four unnamed sources familiar with the discussions.
Trump’s comments come as the U.S. enters its third week in the war against Iran. One of the reasons Trump gave for the war was to encourage the people of Iran to depose their government.
After he finishes in Iran, Trump suggested he will turn his sights to Cuba, threatening a “friendly takeover” of the Caribbean nation, which has been an adversary of the U.S. for decades, except for a brief thaw when Barack Obama was president.
These threats are the latest example of Trump’s more aggressive foreign policy during his second term as president.
Trump also intensified pressure on Cuba when he cut off Venezuelan oil shipments to the country following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and threatened tariffs on any country that sold oil to Cuba.
Both Trump and Cuba have confirmed they have been in talks about a potential solution.
“I can tell you that they’re talking to us; it’s a failed nation, they have no oil, they have no nothing,” Trump said.
“They have nice land.”
