U.S. President Donald Trump said Cuba should strike a deal with the United States, warning that the island nation would no longer receive oil or financial support.
Writing on his social media platform Truth Social on Sunday (11 January), Trump said, "There will be no more oil or money going to Cuba-zero. I strongly suggest they make a deal, before it is too late."
Trump did not explain how the United States would enforce any halt to oil supplies or financial support, or what form a potential deal with Cuba might take.
He said Cuba had survived for many years on large amounts of oil and money from Venezuela.
Venezuela is Cuba's biggest oil supplier, but no cargoes have departed from Venezuelan ports to the Caribbean country since the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces in early January amid a strict U.S. oil blockade on the OPEC country, shipping data shows.
Relations with the United States have remained strained under decades of U.S. sanctions and trade restrictions.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel rejected Trump's threat on social media, suggesting the U.S. had no moral authority to force a deal on Cuba.
"Cuba is a free, independent, and sovereign nation. Nobody dictates what we do," Diaz-Canel said on X.
"Cuba does not attack; it has been attacked by the U.S. for 66 years, and it does not threaten; it prepares, ready to defend the homeland to the last drop of blood."
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said in another post on X on Sunday that Cuba had the right to import fuel from any suppliers willing to export it.
He also denied that Cuba had received financial or other "material" compensation in return for security services provided to any country.
Thirty-two members of Cuba's armed forces and intelligence services were killed during the U.S. raid on Venezuela on 3 January. Cuba said those killed were responsible for "security and defence" but did not provide details on the arrangement between the two long-time allies.
Cuba relies on imported crude and fuel mainly provided by Venezuela, and Mexico in smaller volumes, purchased on the open market to keep its power generators and vehicles running.
As its operational refining capacity dwindled in recent years, Venezuela's supply of crude and fuel to Cuba has fallen. But the South American country is still the largest provider with some 26,500 barrels per day exported last year, according to ship tracking data and internal documents of state-run PDVSA, which covered roughly 50% of Cuba's oil deficit.
Havana produce vendor Alberto Jimenez, 45, said Cuba would not back down in the face of Trump's threat.
“That doesn't scare me. Not at all. The Cuban people are prepared for anything," Jimenez said.
It's hard for many Cubans to imagine a situation much worse. The island's government has been struggling to keep the lights on. A majority live without electricity for much of the day, and even the capital Havana has seen its economy crippled by hours-long rolling blackouts.
Shortages of food, fuel and medicine have put Cubans on edge and have prompted a record-breaking exodus, primarily to the United States, in the past five years.
Mexico becomes key supplier
Mexico has emerged in recent weeks as a critical alternative oil supplier to the island, but the supply remains small, according to the shipping data.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum last week said her country had not increased supply volumes, but given recent political events in Venezuela, Mexico had turned into an "important supplier" of crude to Cuba.
U.S. intelligence has painted a grim picture of Cuba's economic and political situation, but its assessments offer no clear support for Trump's prediction that the island is "ready to fall," Reuters reported on Saturday, citing three people familiar with the confidential assessments.
The CIA's view is that key sectors of the Cuban economy, such as agriculture and tourism, are severely strained by frequent blackouts, trade sanctions and other problems. The potential loss of oil imports and other support from Venezuela could make governing more difficult for Diaz-Canel.
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