President Donald Trump revealed at the "Shield of the Americas" Summit, held this Saturday at the Trump National Doral in Miami, that four of the 12 heads of state present personally asked him to "take care of Cuba," to which he responded with a terse 'I'll take care of it.'
The leader made the revelation during his speech to the leaders gathered at the event, organized by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to formalize the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition (A3C), a military alliance of 17 nations committed to the use of lethal force against drug cartels.
"Many of you have come today and they say: «I hope you can take care of Cuba because you've had problems with Cuba». Right. I was surprised but, uh, four of you said actually: «Could you do us a favor take care of Cuba?». I'll take care of it, okay" ("Many of you have come today and say: «I hope you can take care of Cuba because you've had problems with Cuba». Correct. I was surprised, but four of you said: «Could you do us a favor and take care of Cuba?». I'll take care of it, okay,» said Trump before the assembled leaders in Miami.
The summit brought together 12 heads of State or Government: Javier Milei (Argentina), Nayib Bukele (El Salvador), Daniel Noboa (Ecuador), Luis Abinader (Dominican Republic), Santiago Peña (Paraguay), José Raúl Mulino (Panama), Rodrigo Chaves (Costa Rica), Nasry Juan “Tito” Asfura (Honduras), Rodrigo Paz (Bolivia), Mohamed Irfaan Alí (Guyana), Kamla Persad-Bissessar (Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago) and the elected president of Chile José Antonio Kast. Cuba was not invited to the event.
In his speech, Trump painted a bleak picture of the Cuban regime and predicted its imminent collapse. "Cuba is in its final moments", he stated. He noted that the island has no money, no oil, and no Venezuelan support, and that the planes landing in Cuba cannot refuel to leave.
The president also assured that the regime is already negotiating with Washington. "They want to negotiate. And they are negotiating with Marco and myself and some others. And I would think a deal would be made very easily with Cuba", he declared. He even joked that Rubio could close the deal in a free hour after resolving the conflict with Iran.
These statements come one day after Trump said on CNN that the Cuban regime is eager to reach an agreement.
The stance is part of a maximum pressure strategy that the Republican president has intensified since his return to power: he reinstated Cuba on the list of state sponsors of terrorism on January 20, 2025, and declared a national emergency on January 29 of this year, arguing that Cuba "aligns itself with hostile countries, transnational terrorist groups, and malign actors" such as Russia and China.
The central argument from Trump to assert that the regime is in its "final moments" also rests on the fall of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. The president recalled at the summit that U.S. special forces captured Maduro on January 3, thereby eliminating the primary energy and financial support for Havana for decades.
From Havana, Miguel Díaz-Canel reacted calling the summit "small, reactionary, and neocolonial" in a message posted on X. The Cuban-American congressman Carlos Giménez responded with the slogan "Make Cuba Great Again," asserting that the regime is nearing its end.
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