Trump Suggests ‘Friendly Takeover Of Cuba’ After Boat Incident

President Donald Trump floated the United States taking control of Cuba after the communist country’s Coast Guard killed four individuals on a boat registered in the state of Florida on Wednesday.

“The Cuban government is talking with us, and they’re in a big deal of trouble, as you know. They have no money, they have no anything right now, but they’re talking with us, and maybe we’ll have a friendly takeover of Cuba,” the president told reporters Friday, adding that the island nation is in “big trouble.”

“You know, we have people living here that want to go back to Cuba, and they’re very happy with what’s going on,” he continued.

The boat had Americans on board, according to Axios. The Cuban government claims that the “violating speedboat” was in “territorial waters.”

“When a surface unit of the Border Guard Troops of the Ministry of the Interior, carrying five service members, approached the vessel for identification, the crew of the violating speedboat opened fire on the Cuban personnel, resulting in the injury of the commander of the Cuban vessel,” the Ministry of the Interior stated.

“In the face of current challenges, Cuba reaffirms its determination to protect its territorial waters, based on the principle that national defense is a fundamental pillar of the Cuban State in safeguarding its sovereignty and ensuring stability in the region,” the statement added, noting that there will be investigations into the incident.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez posted to X on Thursday that the country “does not attack, nor threaten.”

“We have stated this on repeated occasions and we reaffirm it today: Cuba will defend itself with determination and firmness against any terrorist and mercenary aggression that seeks to affect its sovereignty and national stability,” he added.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this week that the U.S. has “every reason to want our own information.”

“We don’t make decisions in the United States on the basis of what the Cuban authorities are saying,” he added.

The recent incident and the comments from the president come as the country, which is just 90 miles south of Florida, is facing an ongoing energy crisis, Bloomberg reported.

The Trump administration has not wavered in flexing the American military’s muscle in the Western Hemisphere, most recently with the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro in January to face narco-terrorism charges in the United States.