“I don’t think you can put much more pressure on them, short of going in and wrecking the place,” declared Donald Trump in an interview with Hugh Hewitt, in which he reiterated his threats against the Caribbean nation and addressed, among other topics, the situation in Iran and his particular vision of U.S. international relations.

After acknowledging that all possible pressure has been exerted on Cuba, although he avoided speaking literally of a military invasion, Trump spoke of “going in and wrecking” as the only option to force the regime change that several U.S. administrations have unsuccessfully attempted for decades.

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In the interview with Hewitt, who asked if he would implement a “quarantine” as in the case of Venezuela, the Republican magnate stated that Cuba “is hanging by a thread” after the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

“Cuba is in serious trouble,” said Trump. “Its whole life was Venezuela. They got their oil, they got their money from Venezuela,” he asserted, adding that the pressure against Havana will continue.

Last Sunday, Trump had already declared that Cuba “is about to fall,” arguing that Havana would stop receiving Venezuelan oil.

He acknowledged, however, that it had been said “for many years” that the island was going to fall. “Cuba has been in trouble for the last 25 years. They haven’t fallen completely,” he said, but “they’re very close.”

Trump’s statements come in the context of earlier remarks by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who hinted that there would be significant pressure on Cuba following Washington’s actions against Venezuela. “I think we’re going to see very significant pressure on Cuba,” the official told CNBC.

In the military aggression of January 3, in which U.S. forces bombed Caracas and other locations in Venezuela and kidnapped President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores, 32 Cuban combatants serving as part of the cooperation between the two nations were killed.

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Under the Trump Administration, Cuba has suffered an unprecedented intensification of hostility and the economic, commercial, and financial war waged by the United States. In 2025, the president signed a memorandum to tighten this policy, prohibiting direct or indirect financial transactions with state entities and reinforcing the ban on tourism to the island.

When discussing the situation in Iran with Hewitt, he maintained that if the authorities harm protesters, he would attack the tense economic situation and the weakening of the national currency, and threatened to attack Iranian authorities if they kill protesters.

“If they do it, we’re going to hit them very hard […] But they know, and they’ve been told very strongly, even more strongly than I’m telling you now, that if they do it, they’re going to pay hell,” was his threat.

Trump also stated that he doesn’t need international law and that only his “own morality” can stop him.

In an interview with The New York Times, when asked specifically whether there are restrictions on his authority to deploy military force globally, he replied: “Yes, there is one thing. My own morals. My own mind. That’s the only thing that can stop me. I don’t need international law.”

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