Authored by Travis Gillmore via The Epoch Times,
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the situation in Cuba, where the population of nearly 10 million are impacted by rolling blackouts and instability, during a press briefing April 8.
She further clarified President Donald Trump’s recent statement that “Cuba is next,” after the U.S. military successfully detained former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores Maduro before striking Iran in coordination with Israel.
“I think when President Trump said that and he later clarified after making that statement that he meant the Cuban regime is bound to fall,” Leavitt said in response to a question from The Epoch Times.
“The country is very weak. They’re in a very weak position economically, obviously, and financially.”
Cuba relied on Venezuela for much of its energy resources, but that supply dried up after the United States took control of the region’s oil industry following Maduro’s capture. A fuel crisis is threatening the nation, with scarce resources available, and nationwide power outages affecting homes and businesses.
Outdated energy infrastructure and a failure to maintain electricity grids are contributing to hardships, according to the U.S. State Department.
“The Cuban people are fed up with their government, as they should be,” Leavitt said.
She offered no policy updates but said administration officials are collaborating across departments to identify diplomatic solutions.
“These talks and discussions continue to happen at the highest level of our government,” Leavitt said.
Cuba has faced embargos and economic pressure from the United States since Fidel Castro led a communist revolution in 1959 toppled Fulgencio Batista, who led the island nation with U.S. support after taking power through a coup in 1952.
President Barack Obama eased some sanctions in a normalization process, but Trump began reversing those policies during his first term.
Since taking office for a second time, Trump has ramped up criticism against the Cuban regime.
Trump told an audience at the Future Investment Initiative Institute in Miami on March 27 that his peace through strength approach is built on a “great military,” while economic leverage and tough negotiating strategies can facilitate change without the use of force.
“I said, you’ll never have to use it, but sometimes you have to use it, and Cuba’s next, by the way,” Trump said, while adding the line might be a joke. “But, pretend I didn’t say that please. … Please, please, please media, please disregard that statement. Thank you very much. Cuba’s next.”
In an executive order signed Jan. 29, 2026, the president described the Cuban government’s actions as constituting an “unusual and extraordinary threat.”
The order cites Cuba’s support for and alignment with hostile nations, including China, Iran, and Russia, along with the terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah, as evidence of the threat.
“Cuba has long provided defense, intelligence, and security assistance to adversaries in the Western Hemisphere, attempting to thwart United States and international sanctions designed to enforce the stability of the region, uphold the rule of law, and safeguard the national security and foreign policy of the United States,” the order reads.
Furthermore, the executive order states the Cuban government is spreading communist ideology across the Western Hemisphere, “threatening the foreign policy of the United States.”
“The communist regime persecutes and tortures its political opponents; denies the Cuban people free speech and press; corruptly profits from their misery; and commits other human-rights violations,” the order states.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for regime change in Cuba while reiterating concerns about communism during remarks to the media on March 27.
“The only thing worse than a communist is an incompetent communist,” Rubio said. “So, their system of government has to change, because they will never be able to develop economically without those changes.”
