{"id":492977,"date":"2026-01-05T01:11:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T01:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/492977\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T01:11:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T01:11:17","slug":"venezuela-helped-us-a-lot-uss-capture-of-nicolas-maduro-stirs-anxiety-in-cuba-cuba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/492977\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Venezuela helped us a lot\u2019: US\u2019s capture of Nicol\u00e1s Maduro stirs anxiety in Cuba | Cuba"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr Ifra\u00edn P\u00e9rez had been checking the news on his phone since the early hours. All day, the capture of the Venezuelan president, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/a>, had been the main subject of conversation in his neighbourhood in Havana. \u201cIt\u2019s really pretty unpleasant news \u2013 for Cuba and the world,\u201d he said late on Saturday.<\/p>\n

P\u00e9rez, 62, served twice in Venezuela as part of Cuban medical missions<\/a>, from 2005 to 2011 and from 2013 to 2016. \u201cI\u2019m worried because I know many Venezuelans. I have a great affinity with that people because of what I lived through with them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important thing is to achieve stability and that President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro go back to his nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the US attacked Venezuela<\/a> and captured its longtime president on Saturday, allies including Russia and Iran were quick to criticise the strikes as a violation of sovereignty.<\/p>\n

During a meeting called on Saturday morning, the Cuban president, Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, called the incident \u201can unacceptable, vulgar and barbarian kidnapping\u201d. He said the US attack was an \u201cact of state terrorism, comparable only to the crimes against humanity committed by Israeli Zionism in the Gaza Strip\u201d.<\/p>\n

But for the regime in Cuba, just 90 miles from Florida, the attack on Venezuela also evoked more immediate memories. US troops twice occupied Cuba in the 20th century, and after Fidel Castro\u2019s 1959 revolution the CIA backed a string of attempts to topple the Communist government, including the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961<\/a>.<\/p>\n

People attend an event held at the Anti-Imperialist Tribune in support of Venezuela in Havana on Saturday. Photograph: Ernesto Mastrascusa\/EPA<\/p>\n

Addressing reporters at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday<\/a>, Trump said Cuba was \u201cnot doing very well\u201d, adding that the country\u2019s people had \u201csuffered for many, many years\u201d.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cI think Cuba is going to be something we\u2019ll end up talking about because Cuba is a failing nation right now. Very badly failing nation \u2026 We want to help the people in Cuba, but we want to also help the people that were forced out of Cuba and living in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio \u2013 the son of Cuban immigrants and a longstanding critic<\/a> of the regime in the country \u2013 sent a clear warning shot to D\u00edaz-Canel and his allies. \u201cIf I lived in Havana, and I was in the government, I\u2019d be concerned \u2013 at least a little bit,\u201d Rubio said.<\/p>\n

Trump later appeared to row back on his earlier comments in an interview with the New York Post, saying he was not considering military action against Cuba. \u201cNo, Cuba is going to fall of its own volition. Cuba is doing very poorly,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n

The US capture of Maduro has removed a key ally for the Cuban government. A subsidised supply of Venezuelan oil has been crucial to keeping the island\u2019s ageing electrical system functioning, despite a reduction in quantity in recent years.<\/p>\n

Blackouts have become common in Cuba. In September its entire electrical grid failed<\/a>, affecting nearly 10 million people, and over the past 14 months it has suffered a dozen nationwide outages<\/a>. A malfunctioning energy network has not been helped by the US naval blockade on Venezuela, which has limited Maduro\u2019s ability to keep its ally supplied with oil.<\/p>\n

Daily, hours-long blackouts are the norm. \u201c[Venezuela] helped us a lot, and now with this problem I don\u2019t know where we\u2019re going to end up,\u201d said Reina Mar\u00eda Arias, a retired 68-year-old.<\/p>\n

A street without electricity in Havana last month. Power outages have plagued Cuba and could get worse without help from Venezuela. Photograph: Ernesto Mastrascusa\/EPA<\/p>\n

She said that on the bus she had taken earlier in the day everyone was talking about the situation. \u201cPeople were saying that Americans don\u2019t let anyone live in peace, that they have always had ambitions for Cuba, and now it\u2019s Venezuela.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Havana, fuel shortages have become apparent as cars form long queues at gas stations. Ra\u00fal Men\u00e9ndez, a 40-year-old self-employed worker, predicted that butane gas and oil for transportation would only become scarcer.<\/p>\n

At a pro-Maduro event across the street from the US embassy on Saturday, the Cuban president declared his country\u2019s continuing loyalty to its ally. \u201cFor Venezuela, and of course for Cuba too, we are willing to give even our own blood,\u201d said D\u00edaz-Canel. Similar acts of solidarity took place across the country.<\/p>\n

But despite the official condemnation and private fears, opinions among Cubans are far from unanimous.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people say [the US forces] should come here too, to take D\u00edaz-Canel away,\u201d said Mar\u00eda Karla, a 26-year-old housekeeper. \u201cBut there is no opposition here to take charge of the country, nor is there any [opposition] leader. So it would be totally crazy, and I don\u2019t think that\u2019s going to happen here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dr Ifra\u00edn P\u00e9rez had been checking the news on his phone since the early hours. All day, the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":492978,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[50,103],"class_list":{"0":"post-492977","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-news","9":"tag-world"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115839833451663421","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=492977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492977\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/492978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=492977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=492977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=492977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}