A mix of uncertainty, anger and hope simmered in Cuba on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump said Washington could take “imminent action” against the island’s government.
The administration, which has pressed Cuba more aggressively than recent predecessors, has effectively cut off key oil shipments to push for regime change. The blockade has had severe effects on civilians, leaving many desperate as island-wide blackouts, fuel shortages and lack of basic resources strain hospitals and cripple public transport.
“Cuba is waiting for Trump and Marco Rubio, because we can’t wait any longer. It’s too much – there is a lot of repression, there is a lot of hunger,” said 64-year-old Matilde Visoso, a single mother caring for a sick daughter. “Cuba is in tears.”
Trump has said he can do “whatever he wants” with Cuba. The administration is pressing for President Miguel Díaz-Canel to step down as Washington continues negotiating with Havana, according to a US official and a source involved in talks who spoke on condition of anonymity. No names have been suggested as potential replacements.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Cuba’s socialist economic model must “change dramatically.” While Havana imposes strict limits on the private sector, decades of US sanctions have significantly weakened the economy.
The push on Cuba comes more than two months after the administration’s military raid that captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January, and weeks after joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.
Díaz-Canel rejected Trump’s remarks on X late Tuesday, saying the US “publicly threatens” Cuba almost daily and warning any act of aggression “will clash with an impregnable resistance.” The Cuban government also condemned Costa Rica’s decision to close its embassy in Havana, calling it an “arbitrary decision” made under US pressure to isolate the island.
Not everyone expects direct US intervention. “Americans can say whatever they want. The ones who decide what is done here in Cuba are the Cuban people,” said 62-year-old doctor Jesús García, skeptical of the likelihood Washington would remove Díaz-Canel.
Many Cubans, accustomed to ongoing crises, say the latest pressures have pushed life to a breaking point. Small aid shipments from activist groups and allied governments offer limited relief: Cuban state television reported five tons of medical equipment, solar panels and other supplies arrived overnight, but such consignments are a fraction of what’s needed to restore power and services.
“Really, all of this has people very alarmed and in a bad state. No one knows what is going to happen,” said 51-year-old María del Carmen Compañioni, reflecting widespread unease as political tensions between governments play out while ordinary Cubans face soaring prices and scarce resources.
