Key Points
- Trump is pursuing regime change by strangling external support, not by invading Cuba.
- Venezuela’s rupture removed a key oil stream, while Mexico’s Pemex is now under U.S. political fire for any fuel that reaches Havana.
- The bet is that the security-state coalition fractures when money, fuel, and patronage dry up..
Donald Trump is moving toward a Cuba strategy that avoids another full-scale intervention and instead attacks the regime’s oxygen: fuel, cashflow, and outside protection.
In public comments and online reposts, he has signaled that Havana is “close to falling” and urged the Cuban leadership to negotiate “before it is too late,” while stopping short of promising a Venezuela-style raid.
The political context sharpened after the January 3, 2026 U.S. operation that captured Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro. In the wake of that raid, reporting based on shipping data indicates Venezuelan crude deliveries to Cuba effectively halted.
Reuters cited averages around 27,000 barrels per day from January through November 2025, while other reporting placed the 2025 range nearer 30,000 to 35,000 barrels per day—well below the Chávez-era peak but still a critical support line for an island with a fragile power system.
Cuba faces pressure amid energy crunch
Cuba’s government itself said 32 Cuban military personnel were killed in the Venezuela operation, reinforcing the hardline argument in Washington that Havana is not an innocent neighbor but an active pillar of an authoritarian alliance.
U.S. force posture also shifted: while some assets moved away from Venezuela’s coastline, two amphibious ships—USS Iwo Jima and USS San Antonio—were repositioned into the Atlantic north of Cuba, a signal meant to deter escalation and telegraph capability.
Mexico has become the pressure point. Florida Republicans have accused Mexico of propping up the Cuban state through Pemex shipments.
Mexico’s president denies any unusual increase, yet outside reporting has described Mexico as a crucial supplier, citing figures as high as roughly 22,000 barrels per day in 2025 and drawing attention to an 80,000-barrel delivery.
Trump’s wager is straightforward: when the energy crunch becomes acute, the regime’s patronage and control tools weaken, elite cohesion cracks, and the system faces a choice—concessions, fracture, or collapse.
Cuba’s grid has already forecast large generation deficits and worsening blackouts. In a security state, the goal is not comfort; it is to force an endgame.
Related coverage: Brazil’s Morning Call | Machado Heads To The White House As Trump Bets On Regime Ins This is part of The Rio Times’ daily coverage of Cuba affairs and Latin American financial news.