Cuba faces deepening peril after the U.S. Delta Force removed Nicolás Maduro from power in Caracas.
The island relies heavily on Venezuelan oil—around 35,000 barrels daily per OPEC data—to avert collapse, far more than from Russia or Mexico. This lifeline, sparked by Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro’s 1999 airport pact in Havana, exchanged crude for over 20,000 Cuban medics bolstering Venezuela’s services.
Maduro, Cuba-trained and Castro-approved, sustained the bond. His exit prompts two days of mourning for “32 Cuban nationals killed in the U.S. military operation”. Reports of Cuban accents in Venezuelan interrogations—logged by Human Rights Watch—undermine Havana’s denials of influence in security and intelligence. Such sway alienated Caracas officials, who saw scant returns for subsidised oil worth billions, per 2024 Reuters analysis.
Pre-existing crises worsen. Months of blackouts spoil food, idle air conditioners amid 35°C heat, and spawn dengue and chikungunya outbreaks hitting tens of thousands. Rubbish festers, while hospitals ration drugs. The 60-year US embargo, costing $144 billion by UN 2023 figures, bites harder with Trump’s tanker seizures.
Trump asserts control: “Washington is calling the shots in Venezuela now.” Marco Rubio, his Secretary of State, demands compliance from acting president Delcy Rodríguez—or face worse, if she “doesn’t behave.” Rubio deems Latin America the US “backyard.”
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel honours the dead as “brave Cuban combatants” who fought “terrorists in imperial uniforms.” Trump retorted and said “Cuba is ready to fall.” Havana vows resilience, but Cubans dread oil cuts.