Trump says he would 'certainly consider' military force against Cuba and wants to 'get Cuba done' before leaving office
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would 'certainly consider' using military force against Cuba and that he wants to 'get Cuba done' before he leaves office in January 2029 — the first time he has put a timeline on a possible operation, Politico reported. He called Cuba 'essentially a failed place' and said Secretary of State Marco Rubio 'would love to do it'. Cuba has not responded to the interview in the reporting read; Cuban officials have previously called the US oil blockade imposed in January 'collective punishment'.
Key points
- Trump, asked if he would order military force to 'free' Cuba before leaving office: 'I want to get Cuba done before I leave.'
- Asked about a week-long military campaign, he said: 'I would certainly consider that, yes.'
- Politico: the first time Trump has put a timeline — before January 2029 — on a possible Cuba operation.
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- No Cuban response to the interview was in the reporting read; Cuba calls the January oil blockade 'collective punishment'.
What happened
Thursday's words harden a line Trump has repeated through the year — that Cuba 'will fall fairly soon' — and reverse his late-September expectation of a deal in which the military would not be needed. They land on an island already under a US oil blockade since January, with blackouts and shortages reported, and no progress in talks on the blockade since June, by Cuba's foreign minister's own account.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- That Trump made the statements on Thursday, in his own words, in the published interview transcript.
What we don't know yet
- Cuba's response to the interview — none was reported in the coverage read.
- Whether any military planning exists behind the words — the White House gave no details, and in March the Southern Command chief said troops were not rehearsing an invasion.
- What 'get Cuba done' would mean in practice — a deal, a change of government, or force; the interview does not define it.
Claim by claim
Show all claims (4)
Why this label: The exchange is in the programme's own published transcript; Al Jazeera and Newsmax report the same words. That Trump said it is verified by his own words; no operation is announced or confirmed anywhere in this claim.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The Rubio and 'failed place' words are in the transcript; the first-timeline point is Politico's reporting, carried by Al Jazeera. Trump's separate claim in the interview to have won the Cuban vote in Florida by 94% is his own figure and is not carried as a verified result.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The earlier statements are the president's own on-record words as reported by both outlets; the September expectation of a deal is carried because it qualifies Thursday's harder line.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The blockade, the executive order and the Southern Command testimony are Al Jazeera's reported background of the same dispute; 'collective punishment' is Cuba's stated position, carried as its position.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why it matters
A US president has now attached his remaining time in office to settling Cuba, and has said on the record that a short military campaign is something he would consider. Nothing in the interview announces an operation or any planning for one — but Havana, and every capital watching the blockade, now has a stated deadline to reckon with.
Background
Show the background timeline (5)
The US seizes Venezuela's President Maduro and puts Cuba under a de facto oil blockade; an executive order declares Cuba an 'unusual and extraordinary threat'.
Trump says he believes he will have 'the honour of taking Cuba'; the US Southern Command chief tells senators troops are not rehearsing an invasion.
Trump says he expects a deal with Havana: 'I don't think we'll need the military.'
Trump says Cuba 'will fall fairly soon'.
The Hewitt interview: 'get Cuba done' before January 2029; military force 'certainly' considered.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Published. Basis: the interview's own published transcript, with Al Jazeera and Newsmax in agreement.