“TAKING CUBA”
Trump recently said, “Taking Cuba. I mean, whether I free it, take it. I think I can do anything I want with it. They are a very weakened nation right now.”
The first three sentences of the above quote are debatable, but the last sentence rings true. Cuba (pop.8.6 million, about the same as NYC) is reeling. Cuba produces only 40% of its energy needs. Until recently, it depended on Venezuela, Mexico, and Russia for the rest.
The US now controls Venezuela, and that source is blocked: Mexico and Russia are afraid of US tariffs and have ceased supplying Cuba. So garbage goes uncollected since there is no fuel for garbage trucks. Horses and wagons are common in the countryside replacing motorized vehicles. Electricity blackouts are common even affecting hospitals. Cuba has depended for its survival on tourism, export of minerals (cobalt, nickel, zinc), export of well-trained doctors and medical professionals. These sources of support are in a state of collapse due to a lack of fuel and US pressure.
To try to relieve the pressure, Cuba has announced that Cubans living abroad would be allowed to own businesses and invest in infrastructure on the island. Private firms are allowed to import fuel. Will these concessions keep the attack dogs in the US at bay? Right now the US is preoccupied with Iran. But US developers are salivating over the hundreds of miles of pristine Cuban coastline, and Cuban exiles are always ready to invade.
Stay tuned.
Sources: The Economist, 3/21/26 and The New York Times, 3/14 and 16/26