United States President Donald Trump on Sunday warned Cuba to make a deal with Washington “before it is too late”, or face consequences.

Trump said that for many years, Cuba depended on Venezuelan oil and money, which would now completely stop. “In return, Cuba provided ‘Security Services’ for the last two Venezuelan dictators, BUT NOT ANYMORE,” he asserted.

Trump’s warning came nine days after the US military operation in Venezuela, during which it abducted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Maduro has been accused by the US of drug trafficking and “narco-terrorism”, allegations that he has denied.

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On Sunday, Cuba rejected Trump’s threat.

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said Cuba had “the absolute right to import fuel” from any willing exporter “without interference or subordination to the unilateral coercive measures” of the US, the BBC reported.

Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel said on social media that “those who turn everything into a business, even human lives, have no moral authority to point the finger at Cuba in any way”.

Since the US military operation in Venezuela, Cuba has effectively been cut off from Venezuelan oil shipments as American forces have been seizing tankers with the aim of controlling the distribution of Venezuela’s oil products, AP reported. The disruption has worsened fuel shortages and electricity outages in Cuba.

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The Cuban government has said that US sanctions have cost the country over $7.5 billion from March 2024 to February 2025, AP reported.

Díaz-Canel, the Cuban president, echoed these allegations on Sunday and said: “Those who blame the [1959] Revolution for the severe economic shortages we suffer should hold their tongues out of shame.” He said that the economic hardships were the result of “draconian measures” implemented by the US for six decades.

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