Trump Floats Annexing Cuba Amid Deadly Sea Incident And Deepening Crisis (Worthy News In-Depth)

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

WASHINGTON/HAVANA (Worthy News) – Communist-run Cuba was preparing for more uncertainty Saturday after U.S. President Donald J. Trump suggested he may annex the island, though he indicated it would be less bloody than during the removal of Venezuela’s authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro.

Trump said Friday that Cuba faces significant challenges and floated the possibility of what he described as a “friendly takeover” of the island by the United States.

“The Cuban government is talking with us. They’re in a big deal of trouble,” Trump told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House as he left for a trip to Texas.

“We could very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba after many, many years. We’ve had a lot of years of dealing with Cuba. I’ve been hearing about Cuba since I’m a little boy.”

He spoke as tensions escalated following a deadly gunfire exchange on February 25 in Cuban waters between the Cuban coast guard and a U.S.-registered speedboat.

U.S.–CUBA TENSIONS RISE

Cuban officials said four people were killed and six injured when the boat — allegedly carrying armed Cuban exiles — entered the country’s territorial waters. Havana added that it is cooperating with U.S. authorities to clarify the circumstances.

The incident has heightened concerns about a possible confrontation between Washington and Havana at a time when the island nation is already grappling with its worst economic crisis in decades.

A U.S. takeover, if it were to occur, was expected to lead to greater freedom for devout Christians who have long complained about persecution and state pressure.

Advocacy group Open Doors says Cuba remains on its World Watch List of countries where Christians face significant restrictions.

Watchdog Christian Solidarity Worldwide has also documented cases in recent years involving short-term detentions, interrogations, and restrictions on religious activities, particularly targeting outspoken church leaders.

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM CONCERNS

Cuba has a population of about 11 million people. While the country is officially secular, a majority of Cubans identify as Christian, primarily Roman Catholic, alongside a growing number of evangelical and Protestant believers.

Estimates vary, but advocacy groups say several million Christians live on the island. Many worship in state-recognized churches, while others meet in house churches that sometimes face greater scrutiny from authorities, including surveillance and limitations on registration.

With concerns mounting over Cuba’s reported human rights violations and deepening economic woes, Trump noted that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was engaged in discussions with Cuban leaders “at a very high level.”

“They have no money, they have no oil, they have no food, and it’s really right now a nation in deep trouble, and they want our help,” Trump said.

Cuba has been going through its worst economic crisis in decades for nearly a year and a half, largely due to a collapse in energy supplies.

CUBA ECONOMIC CRISIS

The country had depended heavily on oil from Venezuela, but those shipments stopped after Maduro was removed from power earlier this year, worsening the crisis.

Imports from Mexico also ended after Trump ordered tariffs on countries supplying oil to Cuba.

Severe fuel shortages have led to frequent blackouts and disrupted transportation.

The country is also grappling with widespread shortages of food and medicine.

Increased pressure from the Trump administration could eventually lead to the fall of the communist regime that has ruled Cuba since 1959, experts say.

REGIME CHANGE DEBATE

During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on January 28, Senator Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii, asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio whether he would publicly commit that the United States would not become involved in efforts “to change Cuba’s regime.”

Rubio responded that while Washington would like to see change in Cuba, that did not necessarily mean direct U.S. action.

Cuba’s deputy foreign minister, Carlos Fernández de Cossío, said Havana remains in communication with U.S. officials regarding the maritime shootings and broader tensions, as questions mount over the future of U.S.–Cuba relations and the status of religious freedom on the island.

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