According to AFP, Trump said at an event in Florida on May 1 that “our military can occupy Cuba almost immediately.”
He added that on the way back from Iran, he would send “one of our big assets,” possibly the USS Abraham Lincoln, which he described as among the world’s largest aircraft carriers. “If we deploy it and stop about 100 yards off the coast, they’ll say, ‘Thank you very much. We surrender,’” he said.
Trump also announced new sanctions on May 2. The measures designate as targets individuals involved in key sectors including energy, defense and finance, and allow penalties for foreign financial institutions that do business with them. The administration also said it would bar entry to the United States for Cuban government officials deemed involved in human rights abuses or corruption.
Since the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January, Trump has increased pressure on Cuba, which the report described as maintaining close ties with China and Russia, by raising the prospect of military operations. Cuba is already facing broader anxiety and a sense of crisis as the Trump administration’s energy-supply blockade takes effect, the report said.
Cuba strongly rejected Trump’s remarks. President Miguel Diaz-Canel wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on May 2 that Trump’s threat amounted to a “serious criminal act” and urged an international response.
“The president of the United States is raising the threat of a military attack against Cuba to a dangerous and unprecedented level,” Diaz-Canel said. “No matter how powerful the aggressor, it will not obtain surrender in Cuba.”
Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez criticized the sanctions, calling the U.S. actions “collective punishment” of the Cuban people and a violation of the U.N. Charter.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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