US President Donald Trump has said Cuba will no longer receive Venezuelan oil and money, warning the island to do a deal with Washington “before it’s too late.”
– Cuba, a close ally of Venezuela and a major beneficiary of its subsidized oil, has seen supplies from the OPEC nation dry up since early January.
– Shipping data show no crude cargoes have left Venezuelan ports for the island since President Nicolas Maduro was abducted by American forces, as a strict US-led oil blockade brought deliveries to a halt.
– “THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, adding that “Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela.”
– “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE,” he added.
– Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel rejected Trump’s threat, saying Washington had no moral authority to impose a deal on Havana.
– “Cuba is a free, independent and sovereign nation. Nobody dictates what we do,” Diaz-Canel wrote on X on Sunday, adding that the island had been under US attack for decades and would defend itself if necessary.
– Caracas and Washington meanwhile are reportedly moving forward on a $2 billion deal under which Venezuela would supply up to 50 million barrels of crude to the US, with proceeds held in Treasury‑supervised accounts.
– Senior Trump officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have made clear they believe that the US intervention in Venezuela could push Cuba to the brink.
– The US has kept a comprehensive trade embargo on the Caribbean nation since the 1960s.
https://www.rt.com/news/630837-trump-cuba-ultimatum