Florida: The United States would move to “take over Cuba almost immediately” after completing its military operations in Iran, US president Donald Trump said on Friday.
Trump suggested that US naval power could be used to exert pressure on Havana, at a private dinner hosted by the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches in Florida, as reported by News18.
Referring to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, the US president described a scenario in which the vessel would position itself close to the Cuban coast after returning from the Iran operation.
“We’ll be taking it over almost immediately,” Trump said, adding that the carrier would stop offshore and prompt a swift surrender.
“On the way back from Iran, we’ll have one of our big, maybe the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier – the biggest in the world – we’ll have that come in, stop about 100 yards offshore, and they’ll say, ‘Thank you very much. We give up’,” he added.
A day earlier, Trump signed an executive order expanding sanctions targeting a wide range of sectors within the Cuban economy, including energy, defence, mining, finance and security. The measures also allow action against foreign institutions and individuals engaged with sanctioned Cuban entities.
It also targets Cuban officials accused of corruption or human rights abuses, while restricting their ability to travel to the US. Washington has also warned foreign banks against facilitating transactions linked to blacklisted individuals or organisations.
The sanctions form part of a sustained “maximum pressure” campaign against Cuba, which has been facing a severe economic crisis following disruptions to oil supplies and long-standing trade restrictions.
The measures are aimed at forcing political and economic reforms in Havana, the Trump administration has argued.
Havana has, however, rejected the latest US actions, calling them coercive and harmful to ordinary citizens. Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez posted on X that the measures violate the United Nations Charter, and that the US has no right to impose them against Cuba or third countries or entities.
“While the US government represses its own people in the streets, it seeks to punish ours, who are heroically resisting the US imperialism’s attacks… The US has no right whatsoever to impose measures against #Cuba or against third countries or entities,” Rodriguez wrote.
