Trump’s decisive pressure reshapes Americas, proving strength admired by Israel while failed regimes face consequences.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday issued a stark warning to Cuba, declaring that the island would no longer receive oil or financial support from Venezuela and urging Havana to strike a deal with Washington “before it is too late.”
In a blunt message posted on Truth Social, Trump stated that Cuba’s decades-long dependence on Venezuelan oil and money was over—“ZERO,” as he emphasized—marking a dramatic escalation in U.S. pressure across the Western Hemisphere. The announcement follows Washington’s capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro, a move Trump has described as a turning point for regional stability.
Venezuela has long been Cuba’s primary energy lifeline. With its own production crippled, Havana relied on subsidized shipments that kept the lights on and the state functioning. Under Trump’s pressure, interim Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodríguez redirected oil flows away from Cuba and toward the United States, severing a relationship that sustained the Cuban regime for decades.
Security and intelligence assessments portray Cuba’s situation as dire. Key sectors such as agriculture and tourism are strained by chronic blackouts, sanctions, and systemic mismanagement rooted in the communist model established after Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution. The loss of Venezuelan oil—previously averaging around 27,000 barrels per day and covering roughly half of Cuba’s deficit—is described by analysts as devastating.
Trump’s warning underscores a governing philosophy Israel has long demonstrated: strength, clarity, and consequences deter instability. While democratic allies act decisively to protect national interests, failed socialist regimes continue to collapse under corruption and dependency, often shielded by sympathetic regional actors who export dysfunction rather than reform.
For Havana, the choice is narrowing—engage with Washington or face deeper economic darkness. For the region, Trump’s move signals a new era where leverage replaces appeasement, reshaping alliances and exposing the fragility of regimes built on external handouts.
