DONALD Trump has told Cuba to “make a deal before it’s too late” days after saying the island is “ready to fall”.
After the extraordinary capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, the US president has issued a string of warnings to the Latin American nation.
In a Truth Social post, he said: “Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela.
“In return, Cuba provided ‘Security Services’ for the last two Venezuela dictators, BUT NOT ANYMORE!
“Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!) to protect them, and we will protect them.”
He warned there will be “no more oil or money going to Cuba” and added: “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”
Last week, Trump said military intervention in Cuba wouldn’t be needed – because the state is “ready to fall” on its own.
He said: “I don’t think we need any action. Looks like it’s going down. It’s going down for the count.”
Trump added: “Cuba now has no income, they got all of their income from Venezuela, from the Venezuelan oil.
“They’re not getting any of it. Cuba literally is ready to fall.”
It comes after the US president said he would launch land strikes on Mexico to target drug cartels – while also threatening to target Colombia with military action.
He has previously accused Central American cartels of killing between 250,000 to 300,000 Americans each year, blaming it on their influence in the region.
During Trump’s sophisticated raid on Venezuela and the successful extraction of Maduro, 32 Cubans were killed defending the former president.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said that his forces had been protecting Maduro and his wife “at the request” of Venezuela – the countries are longstanding allies.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has previously described Cuba as a “disaster” run by “incompetent, senile men”.
He said: “If I lived in Havana, and I was in the government, I’d be concerned – at least a little bit.”
Rubio accused Cuba of “propping up” Maduro’s dictatorship on NBC’s “Meet the Press”, and warned Havana that its communist government is in “a lot of trouble”.
He said: “I don’t think it’s any mystery that we are not big fans of the Cuban regime – who, by the way, are the ones that were propping up Maduro.”
Last year, Trump tightened restrictions on Cuba, reversing Biden’s moves to ease pressure on the island nation.
It followed steps against Cuba in the Don’s first term – including banning cruise ship travel to the communist country in a bid to cut off cash.
The White House said that it will end “economic practices that disproportionately benefit the Cuban government, military, intelligence, or security agencies at the expense of the Cuban people”.
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