A tricycle is decorated with US and Cuban flags in Havana on February 26, 2026.
Yamil Lage | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump, speaking during the signing of the executive order at the White House on Monday, said he would have the “honor” to “take Cuba.”
“Let me free it, take it, I think I can do whatever I want with it,” Trump said, standing behind Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office. “They are a very weak nation right now.”
The president’s comments about taking over Cuba come as the war on Iran extends into a third week. Trump has encouraged the people of Iran to overthrow their government in that conflict, one of the reasons he gave for starting the war.
Trump recently suggested that once the US achieves its goals in Iran, it will turn its sights to Cuba. He has threatened a “friendly takeover” of the Caribbean nation, which has been hostile to the US for decades except for a brief thaw during Barack Obama’s presidency.
The threats to Cuba are the latest example of Trump’s more aggressive foreign policy during his second term in the White House. In addition to the war in Iran, Trump ordered a military operation that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and made repeated proposals to annex Denmark’s Arctic island territory of Greenland. Denmark has repeatedly said that Greenland is not for sale.
The White House has effectively cut off Havana from Venezuelan oil since Maduro’s takeover. This has caused an energy and economic crisis in the island nation.
Cuba confirmed last week that it was talking to the Trump administration about a possible settlement. Trump also confirmed the talks on Monday.
“I can tell you they’re talking to us; this is a failed nation, they don’t have oil, they don’t have anything,” Trump said. “They have good land.”
(tags to translate) Breaking News: Politics
