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The Global Story

The Global Story

Has Trump pushed Cuba to the brink of collapse?

31 March 2026

27 minutes

Available for over a year

While still engaged in a war with Iran, Donald Trump’s attention is also on Havana. The US president suggested last week that he expects to soon have the “honour” of “taking Cuba, in some form”. He added “Whether I free it, take it—I think I can do anything I want with it.”

The Trump administration has tightened a longstanding US economic embargo on the Caribbean island, and created a near-total fuel blockade. Cuba was already in the grip of a severe economic crisis, and while a Russian oil tanker has recently reached the island, the blockade has pushed the country to the brink of collapse.

We speak to the BBC’s Will Grant, who has recently returned from the island, to discuss what Trump wants in Cuba, and whether the Cuban Revolution can survive its biggest test in decades.

Producers: Aron Keller and Viv Jones

Executive producer: Penny Murphy

Sound engineer: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins

Photo: Havana street during a blackout. Credit: Ernesto Mastrascusa/EPA/Shutterstock