US president Donald Trump said today that the Cuban government will fall “very soon” and added that Havana has “tremendous desire” to negotiate with Washington, according to CNN.
In a phone call with CNN about the military operation launched by the United States and Israel in Iran, Trump announced that Cuba’s communist regime will be the next target, following a “successful” campaign in the Middle East — now in its seventh day — whose initial strikes resulted in the death of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei and much of his inner circle.
CNN’s Dana Bash reports on a conversation she just had with Trump: “He quickly turned to Cuba. He said without being asked, ‘Cuba is going to fall pretty soon.'” pic.twitter.com/Ix3RZZ3umQ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 6, 2026
“Cuba will fall very soon — actually, unrelated to this, but Cuba will also fall. They have tremendous desire to make a deal,” he said.
According to the US president, Cubans “want to make a deal,” and he named his secretary of state, Marco Rubio — a Cuban-American — as the negotiator.
“We’ll see how it goes. Right now, we’re very focused on this, Iran,” he added.
“We have a lot of time, but Cuba is ready, after 50 years. I’ve been watching it for 50 years,” he said.
On Thursday, the Republican had said Havana was “desperate” to reach a deal with his government immediately and that it was “only a matter of time” before the United States turns its attention back to the Caribbean island, suggesting the military campaign against Iran had slightly diverted the White House’s plans.
Also on Thursday, in an interview with the digital outlet Politico, Trump said Cuba’s fall would be “the cherry on top,” following the military attack on Venezuela last January in which the United States captured then-president Nicolás Maduro — Havana’s closest ally.
Trump cited as an example “the wonderful collaboration” with the government of Chavista interim president Delcy Rodríguez, with whom Washington announced on Thursday it will restore diplomatic relations after decades of estrangement from Caracas.
In recent weeks, US media reported contacts between Marco Rubio and Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, grandson of former Cuban president Raúl Castro. Those reports describe contacts rather than negotiations, and point to alleged discussions about possible gradual future economic reforms on the island and a phased withdrawal of Washington’s sanctions — whose recent tightening has pushed the country to the brink of collapse, relying on humanitarian aid from neighbouring countries to meet basic needs such as food.
