The president Donald Trump stated this Tuesday that reaching a diplomatic agreement with Cuba is possible and that resolving the situation on the island "will not be difficult" for the United States.
"The regime did extremely poorly, and we are going to fix that. It won't be difficult for us to resolve it," Trump said from the modernization project of the East Wing of the White House.
Additionally, in response to the question from journalist Shelby Talcott regarding whether he believed it was possible to reach a diplomatic understanding with Havana, Trump answered without hesitation: "With Cuba, I think so. Yes, I believe so."
The leader took the opportunity to express his closeness to the Cuban-American community, which he described as "incredible" people who have suffered tremendously. "Many of them have lost family members, have been imprisoned, have come to this country, and have been very successful," he said.
Trump claimed to have secured 97% of the Cuban-American vote and reiterated his willingness to take action: "I want to help now. They have family in Cuba. They have been treated very, very poorly."
Regarding the situation on the island, the president was straightforward: "It's a country that really needs help. It has nothing. They can't turn on the lights. They can't eat. We don't want to see that."
When the journalist asked him if he could resolve the situation without changing the regime, Trump responded ambiguously: "Well, I don't know about changing the regime. I can do it, whether to change the regime or not. You know, it has been a tough regime. They have killed a lot of people."
Tuesday's statements contrast with the more aggressive tone that Trump maintained in early May.
On May 2, he stated that the U.S. would "take Cuba almost immediately" and suggested positioning an aircraft carrier about 100 yards off the Cuban coast to force the regime's surrender.
The shift towards a more diplomatic language occurs amid a sustained escalation of pressure. Since January 2026, the Trump administration has imposed more than 240 new sanctions against Cuba, impacting sectors such as energy, defense, mining, and finance.
On January 29, Trump signed Executive Order 14380, which declared the Cuban government an "extraordinary threat" to U.S. national security and imposed measures against third countries supplying oil to the island.
Some analysts indicate that Trump is mirroring with Cuba the script used with Venezuela: maximum pressure combined with a negotiating opening to force concessions or a regime change, and they believe that in this case it may not work.
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