The president Donald Trump made a strategic distinction between Cuba and Venezuela when asked in an interview for The Axios Show if he could apply the same formula used against Nicolás Maduro's government to the island.
The response was straightforward: "Venezuela has oil, Cuba does not. Cuba has great properties and a beautiful coastline," Trump said, according to the clip shared by Clash Report on social media.
The difference pointed out by the leader is significant. Oil has been the main leverage in the Venezuelan case, while in Cuba, the strategy involves financial isolation, sanctions, and the interruption of energy supply that has historically come from Caracas.
In the same interview, Trump claimed to have "defeated Venezuela 100%" and compared the operations against that country with those against Iran, noting that the Iranian action was "much larger and more powerful from an armament standpoint."
When asked how to make a potential operation in Cuba resemble that of Venezuela rather than Iran, Trump did not dismiss any options.
He also emphasized that the island is "a leap away" geographically and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is "very involved" in Washington's plans concerning Cuba.
The statements come in the context of maximum pressure from the Trump administration on Cuba, which since January 2025 has imposed over 240 sanctions against the island and reinstated it on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
On June 11, Rubio announced sanctions against CUPET, the Cuban state oil company, blocking its assets under U.S. jurisdiction.
Days earlier, the Trump administration had blocked a shipment of 250,000 barrels of fuel to Cuba, arguing that the company Vanguard Energy did not have a U.S. license for the transaction.
The Operation Condor, as the U.S. campaign against Venezuela is known, involved an increase in military presence in the Caribbean and actions against the Venezuelan oil fleet. Trump left the door open for Cuba to face similar levels of pressure, although he acknowledged that the lack of oil necessitates the development of a different strategy.
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