Trump Escalates Cuba Stakes With ‘Friendly Takeover’ Remark After Deadly Boat Clash

Feb 27, 2026

Trump says U.S. is 'starting to talk to Cuba' as he moves to cut oil supplies

President Donald Trump said Friday the United States could “very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba,” claiming the Cuban government is talking with Washington as the island’s economic crisis deepens. Reuters and Newsweek reported the remarks as Trump pointed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio as leading the contacts.

The comment immediately raised stakes because Havana has not confirmed any formal negotiation, and because the U.S. and Cuba are already in a high-tension window after a deadly maritime confrontation now under investigation.

Cuba says its forces killed four people after a Florida-registered speedboat entered Cuban waters and exchanged gunfire; an American official told the AP at least one U.S. citizen died and another was injured. Rubio said the U.S. needs independent verification of the facts.

At the same time, Washington has tightened pressure through energy policy. A Jan. 29 White House executive order declared a national emergency related to Cuba and authorized tariffs aimed at countries supplying oil to the island, and UN human rights experts later condemned the order as a fuel blockade.

Trump told reporters, “We could very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba,” according to Reuters.

The friction is also tied to Venezuela. Reuters has reported the U.S. captured Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3, and subsequent moves around Venezuelan oil flows have rippled across the Caribbean, where Cuba has long depended on imported fuel.

For U.S. allies and regional governments, the open question is whether “takeover” language signals a negotiating posture, a sanctions endgame, or something more coercive—especially as Washington faces scrutiny over the oil pressure campaign.

Trump’s Cuba remarks also arrive after weeks of separate Greenland flare-ups, underscoring how quickly his administration’s territorial messaging can shift from one flashpoint to another.

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