Trump says Cuba will lose access to Venezuelan oil, vows US protection for post-Maduro Caracas

By Seyit Kurt

ISTANBUL (AA) - US President Donald Trump said Sunday that Cuba will no longer receive oil or financial support from Venezuela and claimed the US now protects Venezuela, following a US military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said that for years the island nation had relied on large amounts of oil and money from Venezuela in return for providing security services to Venezuelan leaders, but said that arrangement had ended. “THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA — ZERO!” he wrote.

Trump claimed that many Cubans involved in security operations in Venezuela were killed during the recent US military operation, adding that Venezuela no longer needs protection from what he described as criminal groups that had “held them hostage for many years.”

He also said Venezuela is now under the protection of the United States, saying it boasts “the most powerful military in the world,” and that Washington would ensure the country’s security going forward.

Trump urged Cuba to seek a new deal, warning that it should act “before it is too late.”

On Jan. 7, days after the Venezuela operation, he named Cuba among possible future targets of his administration, saying the Caribbean nation “is ready to fall.”