After Maduro’s ouster, Trump warned Cuba to “make a deal” before it was too late

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday issued another warning to Cuba’s government as the close ally of Venezuela braces for potential widespread unrest following the ouster of Nicolas Maduro as Venezuela’s leader.

Cuba, a major beneficiary of Venezuelan oil, has now been cut off from those shipments as US forces continue to seize tankers in an attempt to control the production, refining and distribution of petroleum products in the country.

Read more: Cuba, which depends on Venezuelan oil and support, faces an uncertain future after the United States ousted Maduro

Trump said on social media that Cuba had long lived on Venezuelan oil and money and offered security in return, “but not anymore!”

“There will be no more oil or money going to Cuba – zero!” Trump said in the post while spending the weekend at his home in South Florida. “I strongly suggest they make a deal, before it’s too late.” He did not clarify the type of deal.

Hours later, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel responded to X by saying: “Those who turn everything into a business, even human lives, have no moral authority to point the finger at Cuba in any way, in any way.”

The Cuban government said that 32 of its military personnel were killed during the US operation last weekend that captured Maduro. Personnel from Cuba’s two main security agencies were present in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, as part of an agreement between Cuba and Venezuela.

“Venezuela no longer needs protection from the thugs and blackmailers who have held it hostage for many years,” Trump said on Sunday. “Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful army in the world (so far!) to protect them and we will protect them.”

Trump also responded to a post by another social media account predicting that his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, would be president of Cuba: “Sounds good to me!” Trump said.

Trump and senior administration officials have taken an increasingly aggressive tone toward Cuba, which Venezuela has kept afloat economically. Long before Maduro’s capture, severe power outages were sidelining life in Cuba, with people enduring long lines at gas stations and supermarkets amid the island’s worst economic crisis in decades.

“Those who hysterically accuse our nation today do so out of anger at the sovereign decision of this people to choose their political model,” Diaz-Canel said in his post. He added that “those who blame the revolution for our severe economic shortfall should be ashamed to remain silent” and criticized the “draconian measures” imposed by the United States on Cuba.

The island’s communist government said US sanctions had cost the country more than $7.5 billion between March 2024 and February 2025.

Trump previously said that the Cuban economy, damaged by years of US embargo, would decline further with Maduro’s ouster.

“It’s going down,” Trump said of Cuba. “She’s down for the count.”

Associated Press writer Andrea Rodriguez in Havana contributed to this report.