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Cuba May Be Next as Trump Says the Regime Is Ready to Fall

[USA HERALD] - As the United States weighs long-term strategic ambitions elsewhere, Cuba has emerged as a far more immediate national-security concern. The island nation, governed by President Miguel Díaz-Canel, is facing what U.S. officials and analysts describe as a cascading collapse driven by lost oil revenues, deepening foreign entanglements, and mounting internal instability.

That assessment was delivered bluntly by Donald Trump during remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One, where he openly questioned how long Díaz-Canel’s government can survive without its Venezuelan lifeline.

“CUBA IS READY TO FALL,” Trump said.

“CUBA LOOKS LIKE ITS READY TO FALL, I DON’T KNOW HOW THEIR GOING TO HOLD OUT…BUT CUBA NOW HAS NO INCOME. THEY GOT ALL OF THEIR INCOME FROM VENEZUELA, FROM THE VENEZUELAN OIL. NOW THEY’RE NOT GETTING ANY OIL. AND CUBA IS LITERALLY READY TO FALL, AND YOU HAVE A LOT OF GREAT CUBAN AMERICANS, AND THEY’RE GOING TO BE VERY HAPPY ABOUT THIS.”

Under Díaz-Canel, Cuba has struggled to maintain even basic economic stability. The regime’s dependence on subsidized Venezuelan oil—long the backbone of its energy grid and export economy—has left it uniquely vulnerable now that Caracas can no longer provide that support. Rolling blackouts, fuel shortages, and transportation breakdowns have become routine, amplifying public frustration and eroding the government’s control.

Compounding the crisis are Havana’s expanding ties with U.S. adversaries, including Russia, China, and Iran. American security officials have repeatedly warned that these relationships pose risks well beyond economics, potentially turning Cuba into a regional hub for hostile intelligence activity and sanctions evasion just ninety miles from U.S. shores.

The comparison to Venezuela is unavoidable. The arrest and ousting of Nicolás Maduro shattered the long-held belief that socialist strongmen in the Western Hemisphere are untouchable. That precedent now hangs over Díaz-Canel’s presidency, raising questions about whether Cuba’s leadership can weather the loss of foreign patronage and growing international pressure.

Trump’s remarks also highlighted the political and emotional stakes for Cuban Americans, many of whom fled decades of authoritarian rule. For those communities, the possibility of a post-Díaz-Canel Cuba represents not just a geopolitical shift, but the potential end of a regime that has defined their exile.

Whether Díaz-Canel can hold power as Cuba’s economy contracts further remains an open question. What is clear is that, from Washington’s perspective, Cuba is no longer a frozen conflict of the Cold War era—it is an unfolding crisis, and one the White House is openly signaling may be nearing a breaking point.

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