- Cuba lived off oil and Venezuelan money for years: Trump
- Trump suggests Rubio would become Cuba's next leader.
- US intelligence is unclear whether the island nation is “ready to fall.”
US President Donald Trump suggested on Sunday that Cuba should reach a deal with Washington, warning that the island nation would no longer receive oil or money from Venezuela.
Venezuela is Cuba's largest oil supplier, but since the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by US forces, Trump has successfully pressured interim President Delcy Rodríguez to ship Venezuelan oil to the United States.
“There will be NO MORE OIL OR MONEY FOR CUBA: ZERO! I strongly suggest they reach a deal BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social social media platform on Sunday.
“Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela,” Trump said.
U.S. intelligence has painted a bleak picture of Cuba's economic and political situation, but its assessments offer no clear support for Trump's prediction that the island is “ready to fall,” Reuters reported on Saturday, citing three people familiar with the confidential assessments.
The CIA's view is that key sectors of the Cuban economy, such as agriculture and tourism, are severely affected by frequent blackouts, trade sanctions and other problems.
The possible loss of oil imports and other support from Venezuela, for decades a key ally, could make it difficult to govern the administration that has ruled Cuba since Fidel Castro led a revolution in 1959.
For Cuba, the loss of Venezuelan oil is devastating. Between January and November of last year, Venezuela shipped an average of 27,000 barrels per day (bpd) to the island, covering approximately 50% of Cuba's oil deficit, according to shipping data and documents from Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA.
Separately, Trump again posted a message on social media suggesting that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, born to Cuban immigrant parents, would become Cuba's next leader.
Trump reposted a Truth Social message from user Cliff Smith, posted on Jan. 8, that said “Marco Rubio will be president of Cuba,” accompanied by a laughing-crying emoji.
Trump's comment on the new post was “Sounds good to me!”
This largely unknown user, whose bio refers to him as a “conservative Californian,” has fewer than 500 followers.
Trump's new post comes a week after US forces detained Venezuela's authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro in an overnight operation in Caracas that killed dozens of members of the Venezuelan and Cuban security forces.
