The President of the United States, Donald Trump, stated that his administration will initiate a "friendly and controlled takeover" of Cuba, in remarks attributed to an exchange with journalists at the White House.
The information was reported by correspondent David Alandete, who shared on his X profile the president's statement regarding a “friendly and controlled takeover” of the island.
According to reports, Trump used the phrase "friendly and controlled takeover" to refer to the approach his administration will adopt regarding Cuba, although the specific details of this initiative have not yet been publicly outlined.
The correspondent Juan Esteban Silva also joined that version, stating on X that Trump responded directly to him and described Cuba as “a failed nation.”
In his post, Silva wrote that the president said the island "behaves badly," that "they have no money or oil," and that "they need help from the United States."
Silva added that, according to Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio "is holding conversations with the regime at the highest level."
He also stated that the leader told him he has been "hearing about Cuba since he was a child" and at another point reiterated that he will begin a "friendly takeover."
In an extension of the information, ABC reported that Trump's statements to the press occurred before leaving the White House, where he described the island as “a failed nation.”
"They have no money, they have no oil, they have no food," said the leader, who added that the Cuban government "is in talks" with the United States and is going through "a very serious situation."
"They want our help," she insisted.
He also emphasized that Secretary of State Marco Rubio "is handling it at the highest level."
The president also confirmed that there are ongoing contacts between his Administration and the Cuban regime in Mexico and, recently, in San Cristóbal in the Caribbean, amid a moment of maximum bilateral tension.
The statements come just days after an armed incident in waters near the island. On Wednesday, Cuban forces opened fire on a speedboat registered in Florida that, according to Havana, was attempting to infiltrate the country.
Four people died, including a U.S. citizen, and six were injured. Washington and the Cuban government have announced parallel investigations.
According to a U.S. official quoted by ABC, at least two of the occupants were U.S. citizens: one died and another was injured and is receiving medical attention in Cuba.
The owner of the vessel claimed that it had been stolen by an employee. Cuban authorities stated that ten armed men, all Cubans residing in the United States, were on board and that they were planning a “terrorist infiltration.”
The Ministry of the Interior reported that the boat was intercepted one nautical mile from Cayo Falcones on the northern coast, and confirmed that assault rifles, handguns, Molotov cocktails, bulletproof vests, and telescopic sights were recovered.
These new statements from Trump come just hours after U.S. officials close to Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a discreet meeting with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, the grandson of Raúl Castro, nicknamed "El Cangrejo" and an influential figure within the Cuban establishment, on the sidelines of the CARICOM leaders' summit in the Caribbean.
According to multiple sources familiar with the conversations cited by the Miami Herald, the meeting took place at a hotel near the location of the 50th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community.
Furthermore, the recent decision by the administration of President Donald Trump to ease fuel shipments to the emerging private sector in Cuba is part of a broader strategy to make the island increasingly dependent on supplies from the United States, with the aim of increasing Washington's influence over potential political and economic changes in Cuba.
According to sources familiar with the plan, the White House aims to use access to fuel as a leverage and negotiation tool amid the severe energy crisis affecting the island, the outlet reported.
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