{"id":53828,"date":"2026-05-02T10:44:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T10:44:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/53828\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T10:44:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T10:44:25","slug":"donald-trump-says-us-will-take-over-cuba-almost-immediately","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/53828\/","title":{"rendered":"Donald Trump says US will take over Cuba \u2018almost immediately\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

President<\/a> Donald Trump<\/a> said Friday during remarks in Florida<\/a> that the United States<\/a> would take over Cuba<\/a> \u201calmost immediately,\u201d suggesting an aircraft carrier could be positioned offshore after the conflict in Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The comments came the same day Trump signed an executive order<\/a> significantly expanding U.S. sanctions<\/a> on the Cuban government and its affiliates.<\/p>\n

Cuba\u2019s government, foreign companies doing business on the island and U.S. allies in the region could face heightened pressure<\/a> amid a sharp escalation in rhetoric and economic penalties.<\/p>\n

Newsweek has contacted the White House<\/a> for clarity on what Trump meant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why It Matters<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s remarks add a dramatic edge to an already intensifying U.S. pressure campaign<\/a> against Havana<\/a>, which his administration has framed as a national security threat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While the president\u2019s comments appeared partly joking, they followed concrete policy action in the form of broadened sanctions.<\/p>\n

\"Donald<\/p>\n

Speaking at the long\u2011running, nonpartisan Forum Club of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Florida, during a Friday evening event on May 1, 2026, Trump said the United States would be \u201ctaking over\u201d Cuba \u201calmost immediately,\u201d a comment that drew attention for its timing and tone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He made the remark while addressing the crowd and referencing Cuba\u2019s ongoing political and economic problems, according to Fox News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Trump went on to paint a hypothetical scenario involving U.S. military presence offshore, saying an American<\/a> aircraft carrier could stop just outside Cuban waters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to Trump, the show of force alone would be enough to compel surrender, adding that he prefers to \u201cfinish a job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Link To Iran Conflict<\/p>\n

The president tied his comments to the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war against Iran<\/a>, saying any move involving Cuba would come on the way back from that conflict.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He suggested that a carrier returning from the Middle East\u2014naming the USS Abraham Lincoln<\/a> as an example\u2014could be deployed near the island.<\/p>\n

The remarks echoed previous statements in which Trump has said Cuba would be \u201cnext\u201d after military operations in Iran, although no formal plan or timeline was announced.<\/p>\n

\"DonaldNew Sanctions Signed The Same Day<\/p>\n

Earlier on Friday, Trump signed an executive order<\/a> expanding U.S. sanctions on the Cuban government, citing threats to U.S. national security and foreign policy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The order targets individuals and entities linked to Cuba\u2019s security apparatus, energy sector, financial services, mining industries and other parts of the economy.<\/p>\n

Under the directive, property and financial interests connected to sanctioned individuals can be blocked, and U.S. persons are largely prohibited from conducting transactions with them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The order also authorizes secondary sanctions, allowing penalties against foreign companies and financial institutions that do significant business with sanctioned Cuban entities.<\/p>\n

The sanctions also include travel restrictions, suspending U.S. entry for certain individuals tied to the Cuban government unless granted an exception in the national interest.<\/p>\n

White House Framing<\/p>\n

In the executive order, the administration described the Cuban government as an \u201cunusual and extraordinary threat\u201d to the United States, accusing it of repression, corruption and aligning with hostile foreign actors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

U.S. officials have also pointed to alleged ties between Havana, Iran and groups such as Hezbollah.<\/p>\n

The White House has argued that increased pressure is necessary to counter what it describes as hostile intelligence and security activity taking place less than 100 miles from U.S. shores.<\/p>\n

Response From Cuba<\/p>\n

Cuban leaders sharply criticized the new measures. President Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel described the sanctions as \u201ccoercive\u201d and said they amounted to collective punishment against the Cuban people.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodr\u00edguez said the government would not be intimidated by U.S. pressure.<\/p>\n

Cuban officials have long rejected U.S. demands for political and economic reforms, insisting the country\u2019s socialist system is not up for negotiation.<\/p>\n

Unclear Policy Intent<\/p>\n

Trump did not elaborate on whether his \u201ctake over\u201d remarks were meant as humor, political messaging or an outline of future policy. <\/p>\n

The White House did not immediately clarify whether the comments reflected any operational planning beyond sanctions already announced.<\/p>\n

What is clear is that rhetoric and policy moved in tandem on Friday, marking another escalation in an already confrontational U.S. approach toward Cuba under Trump\u2019s renewed presidency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"President Donald Trump said Friday during remarks in Florida that the United States would take over Cuba \u201calmost…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53829,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1060,6607,33013,12,3365,8712,96,33014,34,349,1434,74,33012,17,987],"class_list":{"0":"post-53828","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-donald-trump","8":"tag-american","9":"tag-cuba","10":"tag-cuban-embargo","11":"tag-donald-trump","12":"tag-executive-order","13":"tag-executive-orders","14":"tag-florida","15":"tag-havana","16":"tag-iran","17":"tag-president","18":"tag-sanctions","19":"tag-trump","20":"tag-u-s-cuban-relations","21":"tag-united-states","22":"tag-white-house"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@people\/116504577069074337","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53828\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}