(WASHINGTON) — 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 event about what “taking” the country could mean, Trump responded: “I think I can do anything I want with it.”
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 Miquel 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.
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