Trump Cuts Off Venezuelan Oil to Cuba

Photo File (AI/Sora)

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday announced that the United States will no longer allow Venezuelan oil or financial support to reach Cuba, sharply increasing pressure on the Communist-run island and urging its leadership to strike a deal with Washington.

Trump made the statement on his social media platform Truth Social, saying that Cuba had survived for years on oil and money provided by Venezuela. “There will be no more oil or money going to Cuba — zero,” Trump wrote, warning that Havana should act “before it is too late.”

Venezuela has long been Cuba’s largest oil supplier, but shipping data shows that no oil cargoes have left Venezuelan ports for Cuba since early January, following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces amid a strict American oil blockade on the OPEC member.

Meanwhile, negotiations are reportedly underway between Caracas and Washington for a $2 billion deal that would allow Venezuela to supply up to 50 million barrels of oil to the United States. Proceeds from the deal would be placed in U.S. Treasury-supervised accounts, marking a significant development in relations between the Trump administration and interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez.

Trump did not explain what kind of deal he expects Cuba to make, but U.S. officials have recently intensified their rhetoric against Havana. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez responded by stating that Cuba has the sovereign right to import fuel from any willing supplier and denied receiving material compensation for security services provided abroad.

Cuba relies heavily on imported oil to keep its power plants and transportation systems running. Although Venezuela’s oil shipments to Cuba have declined in recent years due to reduced refining capacity, the South American nation still supplied about 26,500 barrels per day last year, covering roughly half of Cuba’s fuel deficit.

Mexico has recently emerged as a limited alternative oil supplier, but experts warn that any long-term disruption of Venezuelan energy support could further strain Cuba’s economy, which is already facing blackouts, sanctions, and declining tourism.

U.S. intelligence assessments reportedly describe Cuba’s economic situation as severe, though they stop short of confirming Trump’s claim that the island is on the verge of collapse. Analysts say the loss of Venezuelan support could make governance increasingly difficult for Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel.