President Trump said the U.S. operation that removed Nicolás Maduro from power in Venezuela changes the game for Cuba, cutting off a key source of cash and oil and leaving the island nation exposed to serious pressure from the United States and its allies.
The president discussed the Venezuela action in a sit-down with Sean Hannity and framed it as a decisive move that disrupted a long-standing arrangement between Caracas and Havana. U.S. Special Operations forces carried out the raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and those developments are already reshaping regional dynamics. The U.S. now controls major elements of Venezuela’s oil infrastructure, and Washington plans to work with new local leadership to stabilize the country and restore its economy.
Trump laid out the central point plainly: Cuba and Venezuela had an exchange that propped up both regimes for years, and that exchange has been severed. He said, “Cuba totally relies on Venezuela for money and for oil, and they give Venezuela protection.” That exact line nails the transactional nature of the relationship and explains why Havana is suddenly in a precarious spot.
He continued with another exact quote about Cuba’s prospects, saying, “But it doesn’t work that way anymore, so I don’t know what Cuba’s going to do. I think Cuba’s going to fail.” Saying “I think Cuba’s going to fail” is blunt, but for many Republicans it’s a realistic assessment: remove the cash flow, and the regime’s capacity to hold power is weakened fast. Trump added, “It’s got. I don’t think there are any alternatives for Cuba,” underscoring the depth of Havana’s dependence on subsidized oil and financial support from Caracas.
Hannity pushed the point by admitting uncertainty about Cuba’s survival without Venezuelan money, and the conversation shifted to the people the U.S. should back in a post-Maduro Venezuela. Trump highlighted Cuban-American contributions to the United States and pointed to leaders like Marco Rubio as examples of Cuban-born Americans who understand the region. “We have great people from Cuba. Marco Rubio is great,” President Trump explained. “He knows Cuba very well.”
The host quipped that the operation might be “Marco’s revenge,” and Hannity’s line was met with the president’s wry acknowledgment: “Maybe it was,” followed by, “We want to do something to help Cuba.” That exchange signals a willingness to support democratic alternatives on the island, not just to punish regimes. For Republicans, helping dissidents and encouraging free markets and political pluralism in Cuba ranks high on the list of priorities after dismantling the Venezuela-Havana financial lifeline.
Trump also spoke about concrete next steps for Venezuela itself, saying the U.S. will stay engaged until the country is stable and its oil sector is rebuilt. “We’re going to be working with them — leadership of the country…we’re going to be there until we straighten out the country,” he said, and he added, “But we’ll be running the oil. I’m meeting tomorrow with all of the big oil executives… They’re going to go right here in the White House… they’re going to rebuild the whole oil infrastructure.” The plan as described is about securing strategic resources while aiding reconstruction.
Reports from last weekend detailed how U.S. forces executed a fast, surgical operation to apprehend Maduro on serious criminal charges, including narco-terrorism and weapons offenses, with his wife also taken into custody. That kind of coordinated special operations raid reflects a level of precision and intelligence work that Republican policymakers and national security hawks applaud as necessary for removing a narco-state leader. The capture shifts leverage in Washington’s favor when pushing for a democratic transition and for accountability.
Removing Maduro severs the steady stream of oil and funds Cuba relied on, and that loss creates pressure on Havana to alter its posture or face internal instability. From the Republican perspective, a weakened Cuban regime opens doors for exile communities and pro-democracy groups to push for change. The U.S. stance now combines hard power to neutralize threats with targeted support for rebuilding efforts that can reduce chaos in the region and undercut malign influence from adversaries.
There are still many moving parts, including how U.S. officials will manage Venezuelan assets and how regional partners will cooperate on reconstruction and security. What’s clear from the administration’s statements is the intent to remain deeply involved until Venezuela can be stabilized and to use the leverage that comes from controlling oil infrastructure to shape outcomes. For Republicans watching closely, this episode is an example of using strength to advance freedom and regional order.
Could you imagine Biden and democrats or better yet Harris and Walz leading our country now. We would be a third world country by now. You see all these phony protesters corruption coming out of all democrats states this all would’ve been buried if democrats had control now. Thank God they were found out that they aren’t leaders just takers. We finally have a captain at the helm like him or hate him he’s turning the cesspool corruption on its head and is doing what’s best for this country and the American people. Remember who let 20-30 Million illegals into our country and invade our neighborhoods and get free taxpayers money for everything while Americans citizens were starving and losing their own homes.