There's no reason why Cuba shouldn't be a vital, prosperous country - well, no reason other than their commie government. It has the scenery, the climate, the beaches; tourism alone, one would think, would make Cuba wealthy. But Communist governments never have and never will produce prosperity, just misery. Except, that is, for the few at the top of the distressed heap, who always seem to manage to do very well for themselves; they have their kindred here in the United States, too, like a certain daffy old Bolshevik from Vermont I could name, who often rails at the wealthy from one of his three expansive homes.
Communist Cuba has, however, for some time depended on Venezuela for energy and currency; the now-jailed, former tinpot dictator Nicolás Maduro's security detail was mostly Cuban, for all the good that did him.
But the times, they are a-changing, and not in Cuba's favor. On Sunday, President Trump fired one of his characteristic broadsides at Cuba.
President Trump: “Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela. In return, Cuba provided “Security Services” for the last two Venezuelan dictators, BUT NOT ANYMORE! Most of those Cubans are DEAD from last weeks U.S.A. attack, and Venezuela doesn’t… pic.twitter.com/y613FsT4mr
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) January 11, 2026
The president's post continues:
Most of those Cubans are DEAD from last weeks U.S.A. attack, and Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years.
Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will. THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO! I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.
This may be enough to bring down Cuba without any further action by the United States.
Read More: ‘Going to Fail’: Trump Talks About What the Venezuela Operation Means for Cuba
Havana Headache: With Maduro Out of the Picture, Cuba Is Up the Creek Without a Paddle
And even if the United States were to decide to squeeze Cuba a bit, there are a few economic means still available. Remittances from Cubans living abroad amount to roughly $2 to $3 billion per year. It's unclear how many of those come from the United States, and the problem with putting the squeeze on those is that it hurts ordinary Cubans more than the Communist rulers. Cuba still does business with other nations, including sales of the vaunted Cuban cigars (I've had them, in Mexico and Germany; they aren't any better than a good cigar from Honduras), and there's not much the USA can do about that.
But cutting off the oil from Venezuela, that's going to make a difference. Cuba was, until now, receiving around 30-35,000 barrels of oil a day from Venezuela. That was about 60 percent of their oil budget. That's a lot of oil, for gasoline, for aircraft, for agricultural equipment, all that and more, that Cuba just isn't getting now.
At least Cuban citizens don't have to worry about freezing in their homes due to a lack of heating oil.
Putting an economic squeeze on communist countries is always worth doing. And if we can turn Cuba into what it ought to be, a prosperous hotspot for international tourism as well as a source for some pretty decent rum and cigars, so much the better.
Editor’s Note: Help us continue to report the truth about corrupt regimes like Cuba.
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