President Donald Trump said US officials were holding talks with Cuba’s leadership, after he threatened a blockade on the island nation as part of efforts to overthrow the regime in Havana.
Having ousted Venezuela’s leader, Trump has stepped up warnings against Cuba, saying the country would be “failing pretty soon” if it didn’t reach a deal with Washington.
Cuba has long relied on Venezuelan oil imports, but shipments have ceased since the US captured Venezuela’s president, while the Trump administration has pressured Mexico — another major crude supplier to Havana — to stop its sales, too. Washington has also threatened tariffs on any country that sells oil to Cuba, exacerbating what experts say is the worst economic crisis since independence in 1902.