I Will Have The Honor Of Taking Cuba, I’ll Do Anything With It – Trump

US President Donald Trump has declared he expects to have the “honour of taking Cuba,” stating bluntly that he can do “anything I want” with the communist-ruled island, which he described as “a very weakened nation right now.”

Trump made the remarks at the White House on Monday, the same day Cuba’s national electric grid collapsed completely, plunging the entire island of 11 million people into darkness amid a crippling fuel shortage caused by a US-imposed oil blockade.

NaijaChoice News reports that the dramatic statement came as Cuban officials prepared to announce major economic reforms, including opening the door to foreign investment from the United States and from Cubans living abroad, particularly in Miami.

Cuba’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment, Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, confirmed the shift in an interview with NBC News. “Cuba is open to having a fluid commercial relationship with U.S. companies, also with Cubans residing in the United States and their descendants,” he said.

Pérez-Oliva Fraga added that the changes go beyond small businesses to include large-scale investments, especially in infrastructure. The announcement was scheduled for the popular evening TV programme Mesa Redonda but was delayed due to the blackout.

The timing is no coincidence. For the past three months, the Trump administration has blocked oil shipments from Venezuela and other sources, triggering frequent blackouts, hospital disruptions, food shortages and rare public protests across Cuba. Experts warn the island could run out of fuel within weeks.

This marks the gravest crisis for the Cuban government, which has survived 13 American presidents since the 1959 revolution. President Miguel Díaz-Canel admitted last week that his administration is in direct talks with the Trump team to resolve the standoff.

In a televised address, Díaz-Canel said the upcoming reforms would “greatly facilitate” the participation of Cubans abroad in the country’s economic development. Over two million Cubans have fled the island in the past five years alone.

The Cuban government has also signalled it will allow exiles to return freely and operate private businesses — a type of enterprise legalised in 2021 that now powers much of the island’s economy through supermarkets, services and job creation.

However, the US embargo remains a major hurdle. A source close to the negotiations told media outlets that the Trump administration is waiting to see if the Cuban changes are “truly structural and meaningful” before issuing licences for American investment.

Florida Republican Congressman Carlos A. Giménez, who is Cuban-American, was blunt on X (formerly Twitter): “There will be ZERO investment from the US unless there is MAJOR political change on the island.”

Trump has warned that Cuba could face the same fate as Venezuela, where US forces captured former leader Nicolás Maduro in January after he refused to step down. The administration is reportedly pushing for President Díaz-Canel to leave power.

Cuban-American businessman Hugo Cancio, who runs the popular e-commerce platform Katapulk — described as Cuba’s version of Amazon — welcomed the moves. He said exiles could now act as a bridge to Washington and pressure Congress to lift sanctions.

“As the Cuban authorities recognise our rights to be part of the Cuban nation, we will be the ones that will change Washington,” Cancio told reporters.

The Obama administration had earlier opened doors for US investors in Cuba’s private sector, but bureaucracy and later Trump-era reversals limited progress.

As the humanitarian crisis deepens and power slowly returns to parts of Cuba, all eyes remain on whether these reforms will be enough to ease the US pressure or if Trump’s talk of “taking Cuba” signals a more forceful approach ahead.