Following the Trump administration’s takeover of Venezuela and team-up with Israel to engage in war against Iran, many are curious if President Donald Trump’s claims that Cuba is next are true.
At the beginning of this year, U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a surprise attack in their home country on Jan. 3. They were brought to New York City to face charges of narcoterrorism and cocaine trafficking. Maduro pleaded not guilty and is being held in New York pending trial.
Early on Feb. 28, the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran, a campaign that killed the nation’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with dozens of top officials. Trump said the strikes were aimed at eliminating “imminent threats” and preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Since then, USA TODAY reported that at least 1,500 people throughout the Middle East have been killed, and seven U.S. soldiers have died. Scores of children died in an airstrike investigators have linked to the United States, with human rights groups calling for a war crimes investigation.
So, why is Cuba considered Trump’s next target? He said the island would have to make a deal in a “friendly takeover” or face an unfriendly takeover.
“It may be a friendly takeover, it may not be a friendly takeover. It wouldn’t matter because they’re really, they’re down to, as I say, fumes,” Trump said on March 9. “They have no energy. They have no money. They’re in deep trouble on a humanitarian basis.”
What’s going on between the U.S. and Cuba? Is Trump going after Cuba?
In the wake of the January raid, Trump has suggested that Cuba could soon see change as well. At a gathering of leaders from several Latin American and Caribbean nations, Trump warned of potential actions for the island.
“As we achieve a historic transformation in Venezuela, we’re also looking forward to the great change that will soon be coming to Cuba,” Trump said on March 7. “Cuba’s at the end of the line, they’re very much at the end of the line. They have no money. They have no oil. They have a bad philosophy; they have a bad regime that’s been bad for a long time.”
The U.S. has put severe economic pressure on Cuba, which has long relied on oil shipments from longtime ally Venezuela, which were blocked after Maduro’s capture. On Feb. 25, the Trump administration began allowing U.S. petroleum products, such as diesel, to be sold directly to Cuba’s private sector, circumventing the longstanding 1960 U.S. embargo.
It isn’t just Trump calling for change in Cuba. Florida leaders are, too
Politico reported that Florida Reps. Carlos Gimenez and Byron Donalds, as well as Sen. Rick Scott, have made calls for the toppling of Cuba’s leadership.
Their comments came after a high-seas shootout on Feb. 15 between Cuban coast guard agents and a stolen speedboat containing two U.S. citizens among the ten men. Four people were killed in total, with Cuban prosecutors charging the six survivors with “crimes of terrorism.”
“We need that regime to go,” Gimenez told Fox News. “The regime is causing this humanitarian crisis in Cuba. And the faster they go, the faster that we can help the Cuban people.”
Will Trump reach a deal with Cuba?
According to USA TODAY, the Trump administration is preparing an economic deal with Cuba that could be announced soon. The details of the prospective deal and exact timing are not known.
Trump has said publicly that former Florida senator and current Secretary of State Marco Rubio is having discussions with the Cuban government, and the regime wants to make a deal.
How far away is Florida from Cuba?
Cuba is located approximately 90 to 100 miles south of Key West.
Are US citizens allowed to travel to Cuba?
As of March 2026, the U.S. Embassy in Cuba states that travel to Cuba for tourist activities remains prohibited by statute. However, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued general licenses for 12 categories of travel for Individuals who meet the regulatory conditions of the general license under which they seek to travel.
The 12 categories of authorized travel to Cuba are:
Family visitsOfficial business of the U.S. government, foreign governments, and certain intergovernmental organizations; journalistic activityProfessional research and professional meetingsEducational activitiesReligious activitiesPublic performances, clinics, workshops, athletic and other competitions, and exhibitionsSupport for the Cuban peopleHumanitarian projectsActivities of private foundations, research or educational institutesExportation, importation, or transmission of information or informational materialAnd certain authorized export transactions.
USA TODAY reported that an agreement between the U.S. and Cuba could include relaxing Americans’ ability to travel to Havana. Trump even told Inter Miami CF owner Jorge Mas, whose father was born in Cuba, at a March 5 event at the White House that he’d be able to visit the country soon.
“You won’t need my approval, you just fly back in,” Trump said.
Contributing: Francesca Chambers and Bart Jansen, USA TODAY
Samantha Neely is a trending reporter for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida, covering pop culture, theme parks, breaking news and more. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://floridatoday.com/newsletters.