Washington is beginning to talk with Cuban leaders as his administration is putting greater pressure on the communist-run island and cutting off key oil supplies, US President Donald Trump told reporters on Saturday night as he was flying to Florida.
It comes in the wake of the US leader’s moves in recent weeks to cut off supplies of oil from Venezuela and Mexico, which he suggested Saturday would force Cuba to the negotiating table.
The goals with Cuba remain unclear, but Trump has turned more of his attention toward the island after his administration in early January captured Venezuela’s then-President Nicolás Maduro and has been more aggressive in confronting nations that are adversaries of the US
Trump has predicted that the Cuban government is ready to fall.
He did not offer any details on Saturday about what level of outreach his administration has had with Cuba recently or when, but said, “We’re starting to talk to Cuba.”
But already, Trump’s recent moves to cut off Havana’s oil supplies have put a squeeze on the island.
This past week, the US president signed an executive order to impose a tariff on any goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba, a move that put pressure on Mexico, which Cuba became dependent on for oil after Trump halted oil shipments from Venezuela in the wake of Maduro’s ouster.
Reacting to the development on Friday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum warned that it could cause a humanitarian crisis, and said she would seek alternatives to continue helping Cuba.
In an apparent response, Trump said on Saturday, “It doesn’t have to be a humanitarian crisis. I think they probably would come to us and want to make a deal.” “So Cuba would be free again,” he added.
Trump predicted they would make some sort of deal with Cuba and said, “I think, you know, we’ll be kind.”