"Can do what I want with it" What does Donald Trump have in mind for Cuba?
Trump's words and the difficult situation in Cuba raise questions about Cuba's future. Trump's threats are particularly polarizing on the Caribbean island.
29.03.2026, 21:00
29.03.2026, 21:01
dpa
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- US President Donald Trump has recently escalated tensions with Cuba.
- His blatant threats are scaring the inhabitants of the Caribbean island. For example, Trump said: "Whether I liberate it or take it over. I can do anything I want with it."
- In Miami, on the other hand, the capital of the Cuban exiles, Trump's tough stance meets with the approval of many.
- In addition to a change of power, the hardliners are also demanding justice for expropriations and political persecution after the revolution.
While hard and soft scenarios for the future of Cuba are being discussed in the USA, uncertainty is growing on the socialist Caribbean island about the country's future course. US President Donald Trump recently exacerbated tensions between the two countries. In Washington, Miami and Havana, there are voices that take different positions:
"Cuba is next"
Since the Cuban revolution in 1959 under Fidel Castro, 14 US administrations have had dealings with Cuba. So far, Washington has not been able to bring an end to communist rule. Neither covert operations nor assassination attempts or the decades-long US trade embargo have so far led to the overthrow of the government.
But now Trump has said: "I believe I will have the honor of taking over Cuba." Cuba is a "beautiful island" and a "failed state". "Whether I liberate it or take it over. I can do anything I want with it." After missions in Venezuela and Iran, he says: "Cuba is next."
"It doesn't have to change overnight"
Marco Rubio has long hoped for a change of power in Cuba. The son of Cuban immigrants in the USA is now playing a key role in shaping Trump's Cuba policy as US Secretary of State. "Cuba's economy must change, and that is only possible if the system of government changes. It's as simple as that," said Rubio after a G7 meeting in France. Both would go hand in hand: giving people economic and political freedoms.
However, Rubio had remarked in February: "It doesn't have to change overnight. Everyone here is mature and realistic." Rubio is already holding secret talks with Havana.
"If power remains with the regime, that is not reform"
In Miami, the capital of the Cuban exiles, Trump's tough stance meets with approval from many. The hardliners are demanding a change of power as well as justice for expropriations and political persecution after the revolution. Maria Elvira Salazar, a US MP of Cuban origin, wrote about Trump in the US newspaper "Miami Herald": "If anyone can bring about real change, it's him." At the same time, Salazar emphasized: "You can't negotiate with the Castros." History has shown that Havana never negotiates in good faith. She also warned against an economic opening without political freedom: "If power remains with the regime, that is not reform".
"Our political system is not up for debate"
Cuba categorically rules out a change to its socialist model. President Miguel Díaz-Canel said: "Our political system is not up for debate". According to Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossio, Havana is prepared to talk to the USA about certain issues. However, the most important priority is: "To prevent our people from being taken over by a foreign power and set back decades, to a Cuba that we have long since left behind." Before the revolution, Cuba was considered the "Las Vegas of the Caribbean" with casinos, nightclubs and strong mafia influence. Fulgencio Batista was an authoritarian president in power. In addition to the great wealth of a small elite, there was also widespread poverty.
"What country will be left"
The anti-government journalist Yoani Sánchez writes on her portal "14ymedio": "In Cuba, it's not just about when the government will fall, but also about what country will be left when the dictatorship finally collapses on us." Cuba is in one of the worst economic crises since the revolution - the crisis is being exacerbated by Trump's oil blockade. The power goes out for hours on end.
"I feel a high degree of insecurity"
Author Leonardo Padura ("The Man Who Loved Dogs") never emigrated from Cuba. In his novels, the 70-year-old addresses the external disintegration of Havana and the internal breakdown of his generation. He currently feels "a high degree of uncertainty", he told the Spanish newspaper "ABC". "The way the US government is behaving has created this feeling of not knowing what will happen." What is good in a novel or movie, he said, creates great anxiety in everyday life when it intensifies there. "At the moment, I couldn't say what could happen to my country, to my own life."
