President Donald Trump on Sunday issued an ultimatum to the Cuban government, warning that Cuba would no longer receive oil or financial support from Venezuela following a U.S. military operation earlier this month that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. Trump said the shift marked a decisive change in regional dynamics and U.S. involvement in Venezuela.
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In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed that Cuba had relied for years on Venezuelan oil and money in exchange for providing security services to Venezuela’s leadership. He asserted that those arrangements had ended following the U.S. operation and declared that there would be no further oil or financial support flowing from Venezuela to Cuba. Trump urged Cuban leaders to negotiate, warning of serious consequences if they failed to do so.
The ultimatum follows a U.S. special operation in Caracas in which American forces captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Trump said the operation involved large-scale military action that disrupted power in the capital and that the United States would temporarily oversee Venezuela’s operations while its oil infrastructure is rebuilt and authority is transitioned back to local leadership.
Cuban officials reported that 32 Cuban officers were killed during the operation while defending Maduro, underscoring Cuba’s deep involvement in Venezuela’s security apparatus. The deaths have highlighted the extent to which Cuban personnel were embedded in Venezuelan intelligence and defense operations.
For decades, Cuba and Venezuela maintained a close alliance dating back to the early 2000s under Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez. That relationship was formalized through agreements in which Venezuela supplied Cuba with heavily subsidized oil in exchange for Cuban medical, educational, and security services, making Venezuelan energy a critical lifeline for Cuba’s economy.
U.S. officials said the loss of Venezuelan support could significantly worsen Cuba’s ongoing economic crisis. Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued that Venezuela’s future depends on severing Cuban influence, while Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned U.S. actions as an attack on Venezuelan sovereignty. Analysts say the potential cutoff of oil and financial aid leaves Cuba increasingly isolated and may force Havana to seek new partners or enter negotiations with Washington.[/read]