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US President Donald Trump urged Cuba on Sunday to "make a deal" or face unspecified consequences, warning that the flow of Venezuelan oil and money to Havana would now stop.
"THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO!" Trump said on his Truth Social channel. "I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE."
His remarks come a week after US forces seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a nighttime operation in Caracas that killed dozens of Venezuelan and Cuban security forces.
Earlier on Sunday Trump reposted a message suggesting that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio could become the president of Cuba.
Trump shared that post with the comment: "Sounds good to me!"
In his own post soon afterwards, Trump said that "Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela. In return, Cuba provided 'Security Services' for the last two Venezuelan dictators, BUT NOT ANYMORE!"
"Most of those Cubans are DEAD from last week's [US] attack, and Venezuela doesn't need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years."
Under a US trade embargo, Havana since 2000 has increasingly relied on Venezuelan oil provided as part of a deal struck with Maduro's predecessor Hugo Chavez.
The potential loss of oil imports and other support from Venezuela, for decades a key ally, could make governing more difficult for the administration that has ruled Cuba since Fidel Castro led a revolution in 1959.
For Cuba, the loss of Venezuelan oil is devastating. Between January and November of last year, Venezuela sent an average of 27,000 barrels per day (bpd) to the island, covering roughly 50% of Cuba's oil deficit, according to shipping data and documents from Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA.
