Trump noted that in exchange for support, Cuba provided security services to the last two Venezuelan dictator leaders, but this situation is no longer relevant. According to him, Venezuela no longer needs protection from "bandits and extortionists" who have held it hostage for a long time, as the U.S. Army will now stand up for its defense.
“No oil and financial resources will go to Cuba anymore — zero! I strongly recommend they make a deal before it’s too late,” Trump stated on the Truth Social platform.
In response to these statements, the Cuban Foreign Ministry emphasized that Cuba "has never received and does not receive any monetary or material compensation for the security services provided." Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla added that "unlike the U.S., we do not have a government that engages in blackmail and military coercion." He also noted that "the law and justice are on Cuba's side," while the actions of the U.S. are characterized as aggression threatening the stability not only of Cuba but of the entire world.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel stated that the country has been subjected to aggression from the U.S. for 66 years.
“Cuba is a free, independent, and sovereign state. No one has the right to dictate to us what to do. We do not attack others, but for 66 years we have been under attack from the U.S. Cuba is ready to defend its homeland to the last drop of blood,” Díaz-Canel wrote on the social network X.
After the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in early January, Trump also directed threats towards Cuba, calling it "in very bad shape," and accused the Colombian president of cocaine production. A few days later, he reiterated that "Cuba is on the brink," and that the situation in the country is critical. Following Maduro's overthrow, Cuban authorities reported the deaths of 32 of their citizens who were involved in military and intelligence operations during U.S. actions in Caracas.
