In an ominous message, President Donald Trump said Sunday that with Cuba receiving no more Venezuelan oil, its government needs to deal with the United States “before it is too late”
“Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela. In return, Cuba provided ‘Security Services’ for the last two Venezuelan dictators, BUT NOT ANYMORE!” Trump posted Saturday on Truth Social.
“Most of those Cubans are DEAD from last weeks U.S.A. attack, and Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years.”
The Associated Press reported that 32 Cuban soldiers were killed in the raid that seized dictator Nicolas Maduro.
“Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will. THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO!” Trump wrote.
“I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT.”
Trump did not offer any specifics about the type of deal he wants Cuba to make.
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump says Marco Rubio will be appointed the next President of CUBA 🤣
“Marco Rubio will be President of Cuba”
TRUMP: “Sounds good to me!”
The jobs just keep coming for Marco 😂 pic.twitter.com/YPan8nAeCF
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 11, 2026
An earlier Truth Social post responded to jesting social media talk of Secretary of State Marco Rubio becoming president of Cuba.
“Sounds good to me!’ Trump wrote.
As noted by Slate, Rubio’s parents are Cuban emigres.
President Miguel Díaz-Canel of Cuba responded to Trump’s call for a deal by talking about war, according to The New York Times.
“Cuba is a free, independent and sovereign nation,” he said. “No one tells us what to do.”
Cubans are “ready to defend the homeland to the last drop of blood,” he continued.
Cuba needs Venezuelan oil, Jorge Piñon, a Cuban energy expert who works at the University of Texas at Austin, said of the situation.
Venezuela was supplying Cuba with between 30,000 and 35,000 barrels of oil per day. Piñon said Cuba consumes about 100,000 barrels per day.
Rubio had said after the raid that brought Maduro to the United States that Cuba might reconsider some of its actions in light of the raid, according to the Associated Press.
“If I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I’d be concerned at least a little bit,” he said.
Rubio’s comment came after Díaz-Canel called the attack “state terrorism” and criticized the United States.
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