President Trump has decided to raise the stakes further against Havana, at a time of great fragility for the Cuban regime.
With an executive order signed on Friday, the White House chief significantly expanded sanctions against officials and strategic sectors of the island’s economy, with the declared goal of weakening and changing the communist leadership.
A few hours later, during a speech, he used even more provocative tones, openly talking about “taking control” of Cuba and joking about sending the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier a few hundred meters off the island’s coast.
A rhetorical and concrete escalation that comes as Cuba is caught in the grip of a severe energy crisis, marked by prolonged blackouts, fuel shortages, and daily difficulties for the population, which provoked the immediate and harsh reaction of Miguel Díaz-Canel’s government.
The new sanctions
As reported by Reuters, the executive order signed on Friday targets Cuban officials active in the energy, defense, financial services, security sectors, and other key areas of the state economy. Also targeted are those accused of serious human rights violations and corruption.
The measure also provides for secondary sanctions on banks and foreign companies that continue to operate with the entities affected.
Interviewed by Reuters itself, a former U.S. Treasury investigator, Jeremy Paner, described the measure as “the most significant for non-American companies in decades,” because it effectively removes protections for those who had tried to separate Cuban activities from U.S. ones.
Trump’s speech in Florida
In his speech at the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches in Florida, Trump did not mince words. As reported by Euronews, he declared that the United States is about to “take control” of the island “almost immediately.”
With a tone between serious and sarcastic, he added, with words reported by the BBC: “On the way back from Iran, we will send one of our big aircraft carriers – maybe the USS Abraham Lincoln, the largest in the world – which will stop about 100 meters from the coast, and they will say: ‘Thank you very much, we surrender.’”
Cuba’s response
The Cuban government reacted firmly. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez called the measures “unilateral and coercive,” accusing them of wanting to impose “collective punishment against the Cuban people” and violating the United Nations Charter.
On X, Rodriguez shared videos of the May Day protests, reiterating that “our people do not bow.”
President Miguel Díaz-Canel also spoke of “brutal and genocidal” measures, emphasizing the damage caused by the “intimidating and arrogant behavior” of the world’s greatest military power.
Between resistance and fatigue
The new sanctions arrived right during the May Day celebrations. As reported by the New York Times, hundreds of thousands of people – many transported by government vehicles – marched in front of the American embassy shouting “Defend the Homeland.”
Díaz-Canel and the elderly former president Raúl Castro led the procession to project an image of unity and strength.
The regime announced it had collected over 6 million signatures in a petition against U.S. intervention.
Yet, on the ground, fatigue is palpable: soaring food prices, scarce gasoline, and continuous blackouts make it difficult for many to get excited about official propaganda. Many citizens appear exhausted by daily struggles.
An energy crisis suffocating the country
The situation is worsened by the oil blockade imposed after Nicolás Maduro’s fall in Venezuela in January.
Since then, only one Russian tanker has arrived in Cuba. American threats of heavy tariffs have also discouraged other suppliers, such as Mexico.
Hospitals, transportation, and schools pay the daily consequences, with dramatic repercussions on everyday life.
Secret negotiations
Despite the belligerent tones, according to sources from the Guardian, contacts and visits by American officials to Havana continued in April.
The United States demands economic openings, compensation for properties expropriated after the revolution, and free elections. Cuba responds that its socialist system is not on the table.
Experts like Andy Gómez from the University of Miami, interviewed by CBS News, interpret the sanctions also as a warning to Russia and China, as well as a signal about controlling migration flows.
For now, however, the dialogue seems stuck on distant positions.
