Trump threatens tariffs on any nation supplying Cuba with oil

WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump on Jan 29 threatened new tariffs on countries supplying oil to Cuba, escalating a pressure campaign against the communist-run island and long-time foe of the US.

The move, authorised by an executive order under a national emergency declaration, did not specify any tariff rates or single out any countries whose products could face US tariffs.

Cuba’s state-run media shot back shortly after Mr Trump’s announcement, warning that the order threatened to paralyse electricity generation, agricultural production, water supply and health services on an island already suffering a crippling economic crisis.

“What is the goal? A genocide of the Cuban people,” Cuba’s government said in a statement on the nightly TV newscast. It added: “All spheres of life will be suffocated by the US government.”

Emboldened by the

US military’s seizure of ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro

in a deadly raid earlier in January, Mr Trump has repeatedly talked of acting against Cuba and pressuring its leadership.

Mr Trump said this week that

“Cuba will be failing pretty soon”

, adding that Venezuela, once the island’s top oil supplier, has not recently sent oil or money to Cuba.

Reuters exclusively reported last week that Mexico – Cuba’s top supplier after Venezuela cut off shipments in December 2025 – was also reviewing whether to continue sending oil amid growing fears it could face reprisals from the US over the policy.

Mr Trump has used tariff threats as a foreign policy tool throughout his second term in office.

Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel said in January that Washington had no moral authority to force a deal on Cuba after Mr Trump suggested the island should strike an agreement with the US. REUTERS