“They have good land. They have beautiful scenery. It’s a beautiful island,” the Republican said.
EFE/14ymedio, Washington, March 16, 2026 – US President Donald Trump said on Monday that it would be “a great honor” for him to “take over Cuba,” amid tensions between the two countries over the energy embargo against the island.
“Taking Cuba, that would be a great honor. Taking Cuba, taking Cuba in some way, yes. Whether it’s liberating it or taking it. I could do whatever I wanted with it,” he said at a press conference at the White House.
The president reiterated that his administration is holding talks with Cuban authorities and described the island as “a failed nation. They have no money, no oil, nothing.”
“They have good land. They have beautiful landscapes. It’s a beautiful island,” said the Republican, who boasted of having Cuban friends who became millionaires in the United States.
“Fidel Castro was a very violent leader. His brother is a very violent leader. Extremely violent. That’s how they governed. They governed with violence.”
“[Fidel] Castro was a very violent leader. His brother is a very violent leader. Extremely violent. That’s how they governed. They governed with violence,” the president added at another point.
The Republican president has threatened in recent weeks to take control of the island, whether in a “friendly” or hostile manner, and has repeatedly said that the government in Havana “will fall very soon” because the country “is in ruins,” affected by the oil embargo imposed by Washington last January.
Trump said on Sunday that an agreement with Cuba could be reached “very soon,” adding that his administration’s attention would be focused on the island once the conflict with Iran was over.
“Whether I liberate it or take it. I could do whatever I wanted with it.”
“Cuba also wants to reach an agreement, and I believe that very soon we will reach an agreement or we will do whatever is necessary,” he said.
“We are talking with Cuba, but we are going to deal with Iran before we deal with Cuba,” he clarified.
Last week, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel confirmed that they are in talks with the US to “seek solutions through dialogue to the differences between the two governments,” something that Trump had already suggested, but which the “sala” had denied.
Cuba began the week with another national blackout, the sixth in the last 18 months, as part of the deep energy crisis it has been experiencing since 2014, a situation that has worsened in the last three months with the oil blockade imposed by the US that is completely paralyzing the economy and triggering social unrest.
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