Trump says he'll have 'honor' of taking Cuba as country struggles with energy crisis
President Donald Trump said on Monday during a signing event in the Oval Office that he thinks he’ll have the "honor" of taking Cuba.
"It's a failed nation,” Trump said. "They have no money, they have no oil, they have no nothing. They have nice land. They have nice landscape. You know, it's a beautiful island."
"All my life I've been hearing about the United States and Cuba," Trump continued. "You know, when will the United States do it? I do believe I'll [have the] honor of taking Cuba. That'd be good. That's a big honor."
The president's comments came as Cuba was struggling with an energy crisis and a near-total blackout, according to local officials. The Cuban Ministry of Energy and Mines said Monday there was a "total disconnection" of the National Electroenergetic System, which is known as SEN. Cubans are facing limited water supplies, a loss of basic services in hospitals as well as access to medicine, sanitation and food, according to reports.
The United States this year put in place a blockade, cutting off Havana's access to foreign oil shipments, including those from Venezuela.
The Cuban ministry said on Tuesday that it was working to restore the system after earlier saying the "causes are being investigated and protocols for restoration are beginning to be activated."
When pressed during the Oval Office Monday event about what "taking" the country could mean, Trump responded: "I think I can do anything I want with it."
When President Trump was asked about Cuba during a bilateral meeting with the Irish prime minister on Tuesday, he turned to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has been quietly negotiating with figures close to the Cuban government for months.
"Cuba has an economy that doesn't work in a political and governmental system that can’t fix it. So, they have to change dramatically. What they announced yesterday is not dramatic enough. It’s not going to fix it,” he said, referring to the Cuban government’s announcement that it would invite Cuban exiles to invest in businesses on the island.
“So they’ve got some big decisions to make over there,” Rubio said.
One of the decisions Cuban negotiators will have to make, according to a source familiar with the negotiations, is whether to oust President Miquel Díaz-Canel, as previously reported by the New York Times. But the official added that the ouster of Díaz-Canel is just one of the changes the Trump administration would like to see -- and not necessarily the end goal of negotiations.
Despite Trump’s repeated declarations that the U.S. will be "doing something with Cuba very soon,” the administration has so far taken a more gradual approach in its dealings with the country, and also currently assesses it can likely accomplish its goals without military intervention, the source said.
So far, the administration has relied on economic tactics to pressure Cuba.
"They don't get subsidies anymore. So they're in a lot of trouble. And the people in charge of them, they don't know how to fix it. So they have to get new people in charge,” Rubio said.
In the meantime, Cuba’s energy crisis continues to grow more dire -- with the island experiencing a total electrical blackout on Monday.
"Widespread blackouts have sadly become common for many years in Cuba—a symptom of the failing regime’s incompetence and inability to provide even the most basic goods and service for its people,” a senior State Department official said. " As President Trump has said, what is left of the regime should make a deal and finally let the Cuban people be free and prosperous, with the help of the United States.”
Trump announced additional tariffs in January on countries that provide oil to Cuba. He acknowledged while speaking to Politico that the United States' intervention in Venezuela has contributed to Cuba’s struggle.
"Well, it’s because of my intervention, intervention that is happening," Trump told Politico. "Obviously, otherwise they wouldn’t have this problem. We cut off all oil, all money … everything coming in from Venezuela, which was the sole source."
Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday that he believes Cuba will soon "make a deal" with the U.S.
“I am holding Cuba -- Cuba is a failed nation -- Cuba also wants to make a deal, and I think we will pretty soon either make a deal or do whatever we have to do," Trump said on Sunday. "The president added that he thinks “something will happen with Cuba pretty quickly,” but that “we’re going to do Iran before Cuba."
Trump has previously floated a "friendly takeover" of Cuba but hasn't yet provided any specifics on what a possible "takeover" could look like.
In a rare move on Friday, Cuba's president publicly acknowledged that his government was holding secretive talks with the U.S. as Trump intensifies his pressure campaign against the regime.
"Cuban officials have recently held talks with representatives of the United States government," President Díaz-Canel said during a televised address on Friday.
"We want to avoid manipulation and speculation," Díaz-Canel later added, explaining that the talks were still "in their first phase" and that negotiators from both countries were working "to establish an agenda."
As the president stated, we are talking to Cuba, whose leaders should make a deal, which he believes 'would be very easily made,'" a Trump administration official told ABC News when asked about the Cuban leader's statements.
"Cuba is a failing nation whose rulers have had a major setback with the loss of support from Venezuela and with Mexico ceasing to send them oil," the official continued.
Little is known about the contours of any potential deal, but both the president and seasoned diplomats who have worked closely with Cuba for years have signaled they expect to see the regime collapse.
