Trump says ‘Cuba is next’ in speech touting U.S. military successes

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday (March 27, 2026) said “Cuba ‌is next” during a speech at ​an investment forum in Miami during ⁠which he touted the successes of U.S. military action in Venezuela and Iran.

While the President did not ‌specify what precisely he plans to do with the island nation, he ‌has frequently said he believes the government ‌in ⁠Havana, facing a severe economic crisis, ⁠is on the verge of collapse.

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His administration has opened up negotiations with elements of Cuba’s leadership in recent weeks, ​while Mr. Trump himself ‌has hinted that kinetic action could be possible.

“I built this great military. I said, ‘You’ll never have to use it.’ But sometimes you ‌have to use it. And Cuba ​is next by the way,” Mr. Trump told the conference on Friday (March 27, 2026).

“But pretend ⁠I didn’t say that. Pretend I didn’t.”

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has acknowledged that the country ‌is in talks with the U.S. in a bid to avert potential military confrontation. Cuba’s economy has been battered by disruptions in oil imports, which it relies on to run power plants and transportation.

Prior to the ‌U.S. operation to capture now-deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro ​in January, Venezuela had provided much of Cuba’s oil needs, but Caracas’ new ⁠government, under pressure from Washington, has ended those shipments.

Earlier ⁠in March, Mr. Trump had said Cuba may be subject to a “friendly takeover”, ‌before adding, “It may not be a friendly takeover.”