Washington, 28 January 2026 (dpa/MIA) - US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that socialist Cuba is on the brink of collapse.

"Cuba is really a nation that's very close to failing," the Republican president said during a visit to the US state of Iowa.

The socialist Caribbean state used to get its money and oil from Venezuela. They no longer receive this, Trump said.

The United States had taken control of several oil tankers in recent weeks. Trump had previously announced that he would impose "a total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers" travelling to and from Venezuela.

Following a US attack on Caracas – an important ally of Havana – and the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in early January, the Trump administration has escalated the rhetoric against the communist government of Cuba. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, for example, described the government in Havana as a "huge problem."

About a week after Maduro's capture, Trump urged Cuba to make a deal "before it is too late," without specifying what kind of agreement he was referring to.

Trump also reposted several messages on his Truth Social platform in which users anticipated a possible regime change in Cuba brought about by the US. One post jokingly suggested Rubio - the son of Cuban immigrants - would become Cuba's president. "Sounds good to me!" Trump commented.

Relations between Havana and Washington have been tense for decades. Currently, Cuba is facing its worst economic crisis since Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution and is struggling with fuel shortages.

While Venezuelan oil deliveries have declined in recent years and are supplemented by supplies from Russia and Mexico, the Cuban economy could collapse completely if the US halted Venezuelan oil deliveries altogether.

MIA file photo