President Donald Trump on Sunday warned Cuba to “make a deal” before the United States cuts off the Caribbean island’s supply of oil and money coming from Venezuela.
The president’s statement comes just over one week after the U.S. military stormed Venezuela and captured Nicolas Maduro. Part of the Trump administration’s calculus to overtake Venezuela was its standing as the country with the world’s largest proven oil reserves.
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Cuba relied on subsidized Venezuelan oil to bolster its strained economy. But now that the U.S. government is in charge of Venezuela for the time being, Cuba’s future remains uncertain.
“Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela. In return, Cuba provided ‘Security Services’ for the last two Venezuelan dictators, BUT NOT ANYMORE! Most of those Cubans are DEAD from last [week’s] U.S.A. attack, and Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will. THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO! I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE,” he concluded.
Trump previously said Cuba is “ready to fall” after the U.S. seized Venezuelan oil for itself.
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The administration last week successfully pressed Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, to share the country’s oil with the U.S. In exchange, Venezuela will buy American-made products in an oil deal that Trump says makes the U.S. into the South American nation’s principal trading partner.
Rodriguez will remain in place as the country’s leader unless she upsets the Trump administration in some way. In that case, she could be replaced. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. must first oversee “stabilization” and “recovery” in Venezuela before a transition of power follows.
Unless it strikes a deal as Trump suggested, Cuba is set to suffer significantly from the loss of Venezuelan oil. Reuters reported that between January and November 2025, the island received an average of 27,000 barrels per day from Venezuela. That amount covered roughly 50% of Cuba’s oil deficit. The Cuban economy is already struggling with frequent blackouts and trade sanctions, among other problems.
Cuba has not responded to Trump’s ultimatum on Sunday morning.
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Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) personally thanked Trump for getting involved in Cuban affairs.
“I was born in Cuba & forced from home shortly after the Communist takeover. Today, I represent my community in Congress,” Gimenez wrote on X. “Thank you, President Trump, first Venezuela & next is Cuba. We will be forever grateful. Our hemisphere must be the hemisphere of liberty!”
