Donald Trump on Thursday suggested that the United States could turn its attention to Cuba after concluding its ongoing conflict with Iran.
“We want to fix and finish this one first – but that will be just a question of time before you and a lot of unbelievable people are going to be going back to Cuba,” Trump said at a reception at the White House.
Addressing Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state and son of Cuban immigrants, Trump added: “You’ve been doing a fantastic job on a place called Cuba.”
Washington has imposed an energy blockade on the communist-ruled island, leading to a sharp decline in its fuel supplies after the US capture of Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela — a key oil supplier to Cuba.
No oil has been imported to the island since 9 January, forcing airlines to scale back flights and deepening a long-running economic crisis.
Many in Cuba fear the country could be next on Trump’s list of foreign interventions, particularly after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran that killed the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
Both Trump and Rubio have openly expressed their desire to bring about regime change in Havana.
