The President of the United States, Donald Trump, stated that he does not believe Cuba will follow the same path as Venezuela, although he assured that Washington could act similarly if it chose to do so.
The statements were made during an interview with the chief correspondent of Fox News, Trey Yingst, at the White House this Wednesday.
"I see Cuba. Many things are going to happen in Cuba in the next maybe two months, but I don't see it being like Venezuela," Trump told Yingst, in a clip shared on X by the journalist himself.
When Yingst asked him if he was referring to a possible military action against the island, the leader responded without ruling out that possibility.
"Venezuela has huge amounts of oil. We could do that with Cuba. It wouldn't be difficult for us to do," he remarked.
Trump explained that, in his opinion, the difference between the two countries does not lie in the United States' ability to intervene, but in Venezuela's strategic value due to its natural resources.
"Venezuela is much larger than Cuba, but it has gold. It really has gold. It has a lot of gold, a lot of oil. It probably has the most valuable land in the world in terms of gold and rubies," he stated.
The statements come after plans from the Pentagon were revealed
The president's words come just one day after CBS News revealed that high-ranking officials from the Pentagon have been evaluating various scenarios over the past weeks for a potential military operation against Cuba, including an air assault led by the 101st Airborne Division.
According to that report, at the end of June, the U.S. Army held a planning session to discuss potential courses of action that would involve the deployment of thousands of soldiers.
The acting spokesman for the Pentagon, Joel Valdez, refrained from commenting on the information and merely pointed out that the Department of Defense "does not comment on hypothetical military operations."
However, officials cited by CBS clarified that an immediate intervention is deemed unlikely as a significant portion of U.S. military capabilities remain concentrated in the Middle East.
Pressure is growing on Havana
Trump's statements come amid escalating pressure from Washington against the Cuban regime.
In recent months, the U.S. administration has intensified sanctions against Havana, drastically reduced the supply of oil to the island, and has deployed the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier in the Caribbean as part of the Southern Spear Operation.
On July 14, Trump had already warned that he would act "in a short time" if the presence of Iranian Shahed-136 drones in Cuba was confirmed, while the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, urged the Cuban leadership on July 11 to undertake "real reforms... before it’s too late".
The president's statements come at a time of deep crisis on the island, marked by continuous blackouts, fuel shortages, a lack of essential goods, and inflation.
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