'May or may not be a friendly takeover': Trump issues stark warning to Cuba

US President Donald Trump said Monday (local time) that Cuba could face a “friendly takeover” of its communist government, but warned that it could also happen in a less friendly way if the island did not make a deal with the United States.

Speaking at a news conference that largely focused on the ongoing US military campaign against Iran, Trump said, “It may be a friendly takeover, it may not be a friendly takeover.”




Trump said Cuba’s leadership was under pressure because the country was facing a serious economic and humanitarian crisis.




"They’re really, they’re down to, as I say, fumes. They have no energy. They have no money. They’re in deep trouble on a humanitarian basis,” Trump said.

Trump further argued that Cuba had depended for years on support from Venezuela. That support, he said, has weakened after the United States captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro earlier this year on charges related to drug trafficking and terrorism.

“Venezuela sends them no energy, no fuel, no oil, no money, no nothing. Without Venezuela, they couldn’t have made it," Trump said, adding that the United States had also increased economic pressure on the island. "We cut them off from everything else. So yeah, they’re going to make either a deal or we’ll do it just as easy anyway,” he said.

According to Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was handling discussions with Cuba’s leadership in an effort to avoid military confrontation.

Reports suggest that talks may involve areas such as ports, energy and tourism. Discussions have also included possible arrangements for Cuban President Miguel Diaz‑Canel and members of the Castro family if political changes took place in the country.

After the news conference, Trump visited a Venezuelan restaurant in the area where he met an elderly man who said he hoped to travel to a free Cuba with him. Trump replied that they would go to Cuba together.

Relations between the United States and Cuba have remained tense since Fidel Castro overthrew a US-backed government in 1959 and established a communist regime.

Some efforts were made to improve ties, especially during the presidency of Barack Obama, when diplomatic relations were partly restored.

However, many of those steps were later rolled back under Donald Trump. Soon after beginning his second term, Trump reinstated Cuba on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism.