President Donald Trump recently declared that the United States is poised to "take over Cuba almost immediately," threatening to position an aircraft carrier just 100 meters off the island's coast to compel the regime's surrender. This statement was reported by El País during a private dinner at the Forum Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
"Upon our return from Iran, we will dispatch one of our aircraft carriers, perhaps the Abraham Lincoln, to approach and halt 100 meters from the shore, prompting them to respond: thank you very much, we surrender," Trump expressed to attendees at the event.
Trump emphasized that this action would follow the completion of military operations in Iran: "We'll finish this first, I like to complete tasks."
In his remarks, Trump mistakenly referred to the Abraham Lincoln as "the largest in the world"; however, that title belongs to the USS Gerald R. Ford, which is currently operating in the Middle East alongside the Abraham Lincoln and the USS George H.W. Bush as part of Operation Epic Fury against Iran.
The comments coincided with Trump's signing of a new executive order that expands and intensifies sanctions against Cuba, freezing all assets within the United States of individuals linked to key Cuban economic sectors: energy, defense, mining, and financial services.
This measure, effective immediately without prior notice to prevent fund transfers, also bans entry to the U.S. for officials, collaborators, and adult family members of the designated entities, extending secondary sanctions to foreign banks facilitating transactions with the affected parties.
The executive order states that Cuban regime policies "continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States" and are "repugnant to the moral and political values of free and democratic societies."
This new order complements Executive Order 14380 of January 29, 2026, which declared a national emergency, deeming Cuba a threat to U.S. security and imposing an energy embargo. Since then, the Trump administration has enacted over 240 sanctions against the regime and intercepted at least seven tankers, cutting Cuban oil imports by 80% to 90%.
Trump's threats are not unprecedented. In February, he claimed he would "be honored to take Cuba" and suggested a military operation "would not be very difficult." In March, he told CNN that "Cuba is going to fall quite soon" and that "Cuba is ready after 50 years." On April 27, Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that Cuba "has only two destinies: neither good."
Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar praised the new executive order on social media platform X: "The era of appeasement is over: we will not allow a regime aligned with our enemies to operate just 150 kilometers from our shores."
The regime responded to the escalation by relocating the May 1 parade to the Anti-Imperialist Tribune in front of the U.S. embassy in Havana, under the slogan "The Homeland is Defended," presided over by Raúl Castro and Díaz-Canel. On April 29, Díaz-Canel had already stated that "there is no excuse to justify aggression against the island," in the context of the U.S. military exercise Flex2026 involving drones, artificial intelligence, and naval patrols from Key West.
Cuba's economy is enduring its worst crisis in decades, with power outages lasting up to 25 hours a day in over 55% of the territory and a projected contraction of 7.2% for 2026, marking a cumulative decline of 23% since 2019.
Understanding U.S. Sanctions and Military Threats Against Cuba
What did Trump threaten to do to Cuba?
Trump threatened to deploy an aircraft carrier close to Cuba's coast to force the regime's surrender.
What are the new sanctions against Cuba?
The new sanctions freeze U.S. assets of individuals tied to key sectors of Cuba's economy and ban their entry to the U.S.
How has Cuba's economy been affected?
Cuba's economy is experiencing severe power outages and a projected 7.2% contraction for 2026, with a 23% decline since 2019.