President Trump opened the Shield of the Americas Summit on Saturday and vowed the United States would “take care of Cuba” as it steps up involvement in the region. Speaking at the Trump National Doral Miami golf course in Doral, Florida, Trump said several leaders had asked him to address Cuba’s government and drew applause when he declared, “I’ll take care of it.”
Leaders from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago attended the meeting. The comments came amid rising tensions between Washington and Havana and amid hopes among many Cuban-Americans for a change in Cuba’s communist leadership.
The administration has eased restrictions on Venezuelan oil, allowing some private-sector sales to Cuba as the island grapples with fuel shortages and widespread blackouts. Following the U.S. arrest of Venezuela’s former president Nicolás Maduro in January, critics of the Cuban government have interpreted Trump’s remarks as a sign the U.S. might back efforts to remove Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel.
Trump also lauded acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez for cooperating with the United States after Maduro’s ouster. “She’s doing a great job because she’s working with us,” he said, adding that without U.S. cooperation he would view her performance differently. He credited U.S. oil exports and anticipated gold and mineral trades with helping Venezuela’s economic prospects.
Trump has held up the change in Venezuela’s leadership as a template for regime change, and his statements at the summit highlight a more interventionist U.S. posture in Latin America.