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President Donald Trump predicted Sunday that Cuba is “ready to fall” following the U.S. capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, saying the communist island nation can no longer depend on its South American neighbor for oil or security.
Speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One, the president said Cuba’s future is now directly tied to the collapse of the Maduro government.
Asked if he was considering U.S. military action against Cuba, President Trump replied, “I think it’s just going to fall. I don’t think we need any action. Looks like it’s going down. It’s going down for the count.”
The president’s remarks came a day after a U.S. military operation captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on narcoterrorism charges. U.S. officials have long said Cuban intelligence and security operatives played a key role in keeping Maduro in power. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that Cuba’s presence extended deep into Venezuela’s leadership structure.
Cuban authorities confirmed that 32 military and police personnel were killed during the U.S. raid in the first official death toll released by Havana. State media declared two days of national mourning and said the officers were deployed at Venezuela’s request.
President Trump acknowledged the casualties while returning to Washington. “A lot of Cubans were killed yesterday,” he said. “There was a lot of death on the other side. No death on our side.”
The president also directed sharp criticism toward Colombia, accusing its leadership of facilitating drug trafficking into the United States. He suggested U.S. forces are prepared to expand operations against narcotics networks in the region, citing recent interdictions at sea and in the Caribbean.
The president has framed the capture of Maduro as part of a broader strategy to reassert U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere, invoking the Monroe Doctrine and declaring that “hostile regimes” can no longer rely on one another for survival.
Maduro was scheduled to appear in federal court in New York on Monday to face drug and weapons charges.
