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Agence France-Presse

US President Donald Trump vowed on Monday to “take” Cuba as the communist island plunged into darkness under a total power blackout linked to a crippling oil embargo imposed by Washington.
After nearly seven decades defying the United States, Havana’s communist authorities are under massive pressure from a Trump administration determined to make history.
“You know, all my life I’ve been hearing about the United States and Cuba. When will the United States do it?” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“I do believe I’ll be ... having the honour of taking Cuba,” Trump said.

“Whether I free it, take it - think I could do anything I want with it, you want to know the truth. They’re a very weakened nation right now.”
It was one of Trump’s most explicit threats and came as the Caribbean island of 9.6 million people grappled with yet another major power cut.
The blackout resulted from a “complete shutdown of the national grid”, Union Nacional Electrica de Cuba (UNE) said in a statement, adding that work had begun to restore electricity flow.
Cuba’s ageing electricity generation system is in shambles with daily power cuts of up to 20 hours the norm in parts of the island.
But since the US removal in January of Cuba’s top ally, Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, the island’s economy has been hammered further as Trump maintains a de facto oil blockade.
No oil has been imported to the island since January 9, hitting the power sector while also forcing airlines to curtail flights to the island, a blow to the all-important tourism sector.

In a bid to relieve economic pressure - and meet US demands - a senior economic official in Cuba announced on Monday that Cuban exiles would now be able to invest and own businesses there.
“Cuba is open to having a fluid commercial relationship with US companies” and “also with Cubans residing in the United States and their descendants”, Oscar Perez-Oliva, who is foreign trade minister and also deputy prime minister, told NBC News.
The blackouts, as well as regular shortages of food, medicine and other basics, are spurring frustrations. In a rare moment of violence, demonstrators vandalised a provincial office of the Cuban Communist Party last weekend.
It was part of a new trend of protests in which people bang pots and pans at night, at times yelling “Libertad”, or freedom.
Fourteen people have been arrested after the office assault in Moron, a town of around 70,000 people east of Havana, the regional party chief told state-run newspaper Invasor.
The violence prompted President Miguel Diaz-Canel to acknowledge in an X post “the discontent our people feel because of the prolonged blackouts”, including a major power cut in early March.
“What will never be comprehensible, justified or admitted is violence,” Diaz-Canel said.
The government has also rationed petrol sales and some hospital services due to the fuel shortages.
Diaz-Canel confirmed last week that his government had held talks with the United States.
Trump has alleged the fuel blockade is a response to an “extraordinary threat” posed by Cuba to the United States.
Trump said on Sunday that Cuba “wants to make a deal”, which could come quickly after his administration has finished the war against Iran.
“I think we will pretty soon either make a deal or do whatever we have to do,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.


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Americas and the Caribbean

People wait at a bus stop in Havana, Cuba during a blackout on Monday. Photo: AFP

A hotel in Havana remains lit by its own system during a blackout. Photo: AFP

Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel. Photo: AFP

Trump says Cuba is going to ‘fall pretty soon’

A woman holds a pro-Trump sign and Cuban flags during a protest against Cuba’s government in Miami, Florida, in February. Photo: Reuters

A man rides his bicycle past an empty petrol station in Havana in February. Photo: AFP/TNS

A woman walks past a board with information on humanitarian aid donated by Mexico for Cuban families at a grocery in Havana on Friday. Photo: AFP

Cuba confirms talks with US as island gasps under Trump’s energy blockade

People spend time in the public area in front of a hotel in Havana, Cuba, on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Trump offers Latin American leaders US missile strikes to hit drug cartels

US President Donald Trump attends the “Shield of the Americas” summit in Miami, Florida, on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

US President Donald Trump reacts after signing the “Commitment to countering cartel criminal activity” document during the “Shield of the Americas” summit with Latin American leaders in Miami, Florida, on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

Trump supporters take part in a protest against Cuba’s government in Miami in February. Photo: Reuters

Spain to send humanitarian aid to Cuba through UN amid US fuel blockade

A mechanic repairs a flat tyre from a cycle rickshaw at his workshop in Havana as the fuel crisis in Cuba forces many workers to abandon petrol cars and turn to electric tricycles and bicycle taxis. Photo: AFP

A man throws rubbish on a street in downtown Havana, Cuba on Sunday with collectors unable to operate due to duel shortages. Photo: Reuters

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World

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United States & Canada

US president says he can do ‘anything I want’ with weakened nation as oil embargo cripples Havana’s power grid


US president says he can do ‘anything I want’ with weakened nation as oil embargo cripples Havana’s power grid.


Trump vows to ‘take’ Cuba as island reels from total power blackout

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}US president says he can do ‘anything I want’ with weakened nation as oil embargo cripples Havana’s power grid

US president says he can do ‘anything I want’ with weakened nation as oil embargo cripples Havana’s power grid