Donald Trump once again brought Cuba to the forefront of his political discourse by stating in a television interview that the Island is “hanging by a thread” and that the regime is going through a critical moment.
During his conversation with host Hugh Hewitt on the show The Hugh Hewitt Show, the U.S. president reacted to a question about whether it was time to increase pressure on Havana and responded with a provocative statement.
According to him, “you can’t put much more pressure” without “coming in and blowing the place to pieces.” The statement, laden with drama, came while he described Cuba as a country “in great trouble” and close to hitting rock bottom.
Trump directly linked the fragility of the Cuban system to the loss of external support, insisting that the "life" of the regime depended on Venezuela.
In his response, he portrayed Cuba as a player that sustained itself for years thanks to the oil and money coming from Caracas, and suggested that this support may have weakened.
In the most striking segment, Hewitt asked whether Miguel Díaz-Canel could "fall," as, according to the host, could happen with leaders in other crisis scenarios, exemplifying with Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran.
Trump did not rule it out: "Yes... Cuba is really in a lot of trouble," he said, although he acknowledged that for decades a collapse has been predicted that "just hasn't happened."
Still, he concluded with an idea that many Cubans have heard in different tones, but which stings due to its familiarity: “They have been in trouble for 25 years... but I think they are quite close.”
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