President Donald Trump reiterated on Thursday that Cuba is a "failed state" in statements released by the official White House account, Rapid Response 47, and promised that the United States will assist the island and create opportunities for Cuban Americans to return and invest in it.
«Cuba, look, it's a failed country. Everyone knows it. They have no electricity. They have no money. They really have nothing. They have no food. And we are going to help them,» Trump stated in his remarks.
The president praised the Cuban-American community—mostly residing in Miami and Florida—as "a great group of people, incredible, industrious, great Americans" who have been waiting for this moment for decades.
"They want to return to their country. They want to help their country. I hope they stay here, but they want to go back. They want to invest in their country," said Trump, who added that his goal is "to open it up for Cuban-Americans so they can return and help."
Trump also claimed historical credit for being the president who will finally solve the Cuban problem: "Other presidents have been looking at this for 50, 60 years trying to do something, and it seems that I will be the one to do it."
This Thursday, Trump announced that there will be "announcements soon" about the embargo on Cuba, signaling that the administration is preparing new moves in its policy towards Havana.
The statements come amid intense diplomatic activity. Last Wednesday, Trump asserted that “we have the CIA there, Marco there” in reference to Cuba, and that the regime “is going to have to come to us.”
The most recent turning point was the visit of CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Havana on May 14, the highest-level contact between the two governments on Cuban soil since 2016, where he conveyed Washington's willingness to engage in dialogue conditioned on "fundamental changes."
The Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered on Wednesday 100 million dollars in food and medicine to Cuba, contingent upon the distribution taking place outside the military conglomerate GAESA.
The backdrop of these statements is the worst energy crisis Cuba has faced in decades: daily blackouts of up to 20 hours and a critical fuel shortage, a situation that the Cuban Minister of Energy acknowledged on May 14 by admitting that the island had run out of both oil and diesel.
Since its return to the White House in January 2026, the Trump administration has imposed over 240 new sanctions against Cuba, reinstated the island on the list of state sponsors of terrorism, and signed two executive orders declaring a national emergency and establishing secondary sanctions against foreign financial entities that operate with the regime.
The Díaz-Canel regime admitted on Wednesday its willingness to negotiate, although it conditioned any progress on the lifting of the embargo, a position that clashes with Washington's demand for "fundamental changes" prior to any opening.
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