“Venezuela is doing great, it has been stabilized” and added that “billions of barrels of oil are on the way to Houston,” during a recognition event for the Inter Miami soccer team at the White House.
Regarding Cuba, the US president defended the pressure strategy that his administration applies against the regime communist Havana, and maintained that the worsening of the crisis on the island is related to the sanctions and the blockade of the supply of oil promoted by Washington.
“We cut off all the oil, all the money, everything that came from Venezuela, which was the only source,” declared President Trump during an interview for the newspaper ‘Politico’, in which he confirmed that they are in talks with the island’s authorities. “They need help,” he said.
However, Trump did not offer details about the scope of these contacts.
desperate Cuba
President Trump assured that Cuba is “desperate” to reach a deal with his Administration immediately in statements Thursday afternoon in the Oval Office at the White House.
“They have no idea; Cuba desperately wants to reach a deal,” said the president during his speech at an event to celebrate the 2025 league title of the Inter Miami soccer team, led by Argentine Lionel Messi.
The Republican added that “It is only a matter of time” before his Administration focuses on Cubaimplying that the military campaign that began to be carried out against Iran last weekend has somewhat diverted the focus of the White House.
Prior to this statement, the president had assured in an interview with the digital media Politico that the fall of the Cuban regime would be “the icing on the cake” and explained that the United States has been pursuing this objective for more than 50 years but that for him this was a minor objective.
The last few weeks have been marked by exclusive information in the US media about contacts between the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and a grandson of former Cuban President Raúl Castro, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro.
These reports speak of contacts rather than negotiations, and indicate alleged conversations about possible and future gradual economic reforms on the island and a phased withdrawal of Washington’s sanctions.
Venezuela, the example
“Cuba will fall (…) After 50 years, that is the icing on the cake,” said Trump, who has put Venezuela as an example of what relations between Washington and Havana could be like in the future.
“Venezuela is doing fantastically. They are doing a fantastic job. The relationship with them is excellent,” he said.
In recent months, Cuba has seen its oil supply reduced as a result of the arrest of the deposed Venezuelan dictator, Nicolás Maduro, in early January 2026, in a surprise operation by United States forces.
In the midst of his threats against the island, weeks later, President Trump issued an executive order by which he would impose tariffs on all those countries that sold or supplied oil to Cuba, further deepening the shortage crisis.
Praise Delcy
During his speech, the president praised, once again, the interim ruler Delcy Rodríguez, whom he described as a “wonderful person” and insisted that they maintain a good relationship. Rodríguez has complied with the demands of the United States after the removal of deposed dictator Nicolás Maduro through a military operation.
Regarding Venezuelan oil, the Republican stressed that “billions of barrels of oil” have left Venezuela and are about to reach Houston and “other places where they can be refined.”
Trump said they will send back to Venezuela “more money than they have made in many years.”
Trump’s statements come after his Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, visited Caracas to meet with Rodríguez this week to ratify relations between both countries.
The negotiations
At the beginning of February it was learned that a delegation of Havana headed by the son of the dictator Raúl Castro, General Alejandro Castro Espín, of the Ministry of the Interior of Cubawould be in Mexico trying to negotiate with a high representative of the INC an unlock of 133 million dollars to buy oil, as a possible way out of sanctions announced by the president of USA.
The information was released in the Zoe Post media by a source close to Claudia Sheinbaum’s government, who announced that Mexico would not approve the intention to unlock money without the approval of the United States.
“They are talking about everything,” said the source who requested anonymity, although he said he was unaware of the specific issues that were addressed in the meeting, but stressed that “Mexico will not give its approval to the unblocking of the bank account, if it does not have the approval of the United States” and that the Cubans “want to use that money to buy fuel,” according to the media.
Recently, the head of the regime, Miguel Díaz-Canel, denied negotiations with the US, except for contacts to adjust “technical immigration details,” it was recalled.
