As U.S. pressures Cuba, Trump says there could be 'friendly takeover'
"We could very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba," Trump told reporters Feb. 27.
WASHINGTON − President Donald Trump said the U.S. could have a "friendly takeover of Cuba" as fuel shortages squeeze Havana's authoritarian government in the wake of the U.S. military raid that captured the leader of nearby Venezuela − and a murky shootout off the Cuban coast involving U.S. citizens.
"Maybe we'll have a friendly takeover of Cuba," Trump told reporters Feb. 27 as he departed the White House on a trip to Texas. "We could very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba."
The U.S. has put severe economic pressure on Cuba, which has long relied on oil shipments from longtime ally Venezuela. Those shipments were blocked after Trump authorized a military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The Trump administration relaxed the policy this week as the crisis inside Cuba deepened.
The Venezuela operation prompted questions about whether the U.S. could take action in Cuba, where the Trump administration has taken a hard line against the communist government. Trump has called on Cuban leaders to "make a deal" and said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who's Cuban American, is engaging at "a very high level" with Havana.
"You know, they have no money, they have no oil, they have no food and it's really right now a nation in deep trouble and they want our help," Trump said Feb. 27.
Rubio has reportedly spoken with Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, the grandson of Cuban revolutionary Raul Castro, according to The Miami Herald and Axios.
The Trump administration for weeks has sought to leverage Cuba's fuel crisis to force changes on the island.
"THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO! I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE," the president wrote on social media Jan. 11.
A shootout involving a stolen U.S. speedboat that entered Cuban territorial waters this week added to the tense situation. The Cuban government said the men on the boat opened fire on Cuban border guards and they shot back, killing four and injuring six other people.
Cuban officials said men involved in the incident were Cuban nationals with violent criminal histories. Several of the men had criminal records, U.S. officials said on Feb. 26. Two of the individuals, including one who was killed, are U.S. citizens. The matter is being investigated.
Contributing: Rick Jervis, Kim Hjelmgaard, Jayme Fraser,C. A. Bridges