WASHINGTON, Jan 12: US President Donald Trump urged Cuba on Sunday to "make a deal" or face unspecified consequences, warning that the flow of Venezuelan oil and money to Havana would now stop.
"THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO!" Trump said on his Truth Social channel. "I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE."
His remarks come a week after US forces seized Venezuela's authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro in a nighttime operation in Caracas that killed dozens of Venezuelan and Cuban security forces.
Earlier on Sunday Trump reposted a message suggesting that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio could become the president of now communist-ruled Cuba.
Trump shared that post with the comment: "Sounds good to me!"
Investors in Cuba wary of impact from U.S. threats, Venezuela c...
In his own post soon afterwards, Trump said that "Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela. In return, Cuba provided 'Security Services' for the last two Venezuelan dictators, BUT NOT ANYMORE!"
"Most of those Cubans are DEAD from last week's U.S.A. attack, and Venezuela doesn't need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years."
Under a US trade embargo, Havana since 2000 has increasingly relied on Venezuelan oil provided as part of a deal struck with Maduro's predecessor Hugo Chavez.
Trump reposts suggestion that Rubio become next Cuba leader
President Donald Trump reposted a social media message on Sunday suggesting that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, born to Cuban immigrant parents, would become the next leader of Cuba.
Trump republished on his Truth Social platform a message from X user Cliff Smith on January 8 that read: "Marco Rubio will be president of Cuba," accompanied by a crying laughing emoji.
"Sounds good to me!" Trump commented in his repost.
The largely unknown user, whose bio refers to him as a "conservative Californian," has less than 500 followers on X.
Trump's repost comes a week after US forces seized Venezuela's authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro in an overnight operation in Caracas that killed dozens of Venezuelan and Cuban security forces.
Cuba's communist government has yet to directly respond to the US president's provocative suggestion that an American citizen could rule the island.
But shortly after Trump's post, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez insisted "right and justice are on Cuba's side."
The United States "behaves like an out-of-control criminal hegemon that threatens peace and security, not only in Cuba and this hemisphere, but throughout the entire world," Rodriguez posted on X.
