Photo: Alamy
President Donald Trump said Monday he believes the United States could soon “take” Cuba as the island nation struggles through a nationwide blackout and mounting economic pressure tied to a U.S. oil embargo.
After nearly seven decades of strained relations between the two nations, the Trump administration has intensified pressure on Cuba’s communist government. The latest crisis unfolded as the Caribbean nation experienced a collapse of its national electrical grid, leaving millions without power.
“You know, all my life I’ve been hearing about the United States and Cuba. When will the United States do it?” President Trump said.
“I do believe I’ll be…having the honor of taking Cuba,” he told reporters at the White House. “Whether I free it, take it — think I could do anything I want with it, you want to know the truth. They’re a very weakened nation right now.”
The remarks were among the president’s most direct statements about the possibility of U.S. action involving the island nation.
Cuba’s power grid collapsed following what officials described as a “complete shutdown of the national grid,” according to the state power company. Authorities said efforts were underway to restore electricity across the country.
The country’s aging energy infrastructure has struggled for years, with many regions experiencing power outages lasting up to 20 hours a day due to fuel shortages and failing power plants.
The situation has worsened since the United States removed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro from power earlier this year, cutting off a source of oil shipments to Cuba. The shortages have also disrupted transportation and aviation, forcing airlines to reduce flights to the island and dealing a blow to Cuba’s tourism industry.
In a sign of the country’s economic strain, Cuban officials announced Monday that exiles would be allowed to invest in and own businesses on the island.
“Cuba is open to having a fluid commercial relationship with U.S. companies” and “also with Cubans residing in the United States and their descendants,” Oscar Perez-Oliva, Cuba’s foreign trade minister and a deputy prime minister, told NBC News.