Trump says he thinks he will have the 'honor' of 'taking Cuba'

<p>President <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/donald-trump/">Donald Trump</a> on Monday said he thinks he will have the "honor" of "taking <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/the-profit-in-cuba--home-cnbc/">Cuba</a>," speaking during an executive order signing at the White House. </p>
<p>"Whether I free it, take it, I think I can do anything I want with it," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office with Vice President JD Vance standing behind him. "They're a very weakened nation right now."</p>
<p>The president's comments on taking Cuba come as he carries out a war in <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/16/us-is-allowing-iranian-tankers-through-strait-of-hormuz-says-bessent.html">Iran</a> that is stretching into its third week. Trump has encouraged the people of Iran to depose their government in that conflict, one of a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/03/trump-iran-shifting-narrative-us-war.html">litany of reasons</a> he has given for starting the war. </p>
<p>Trump recently suggested he will turn his sights to Cuba after the U.S. achieves its aims in Iran. He has threatened a "<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/10/iran-war-cuba-crisis-fuel-energy-trump-us-havana.html">friendly takeover</a>" of the Caribbean nation, which has been an adversary of the U.S. for decades except for a brief thaw when Barack Obama was president.</p>
<p>The Cuba threats are the latest example of Trump's more aggressive foreign policy during his second term in the White House. In addition to the war in Iran, Trump ordered a military operation that captured the Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and has made repeated overtures to acquire <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/04/trump-denmark-greenland-frederiksen-venezuela.html">Greenland</a>, the Arctic island territory of Denmark. Denmark has repeatedly said Greenland is not for sale.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/01/addressing-threats-to-the-united-states-by-the-government-of-cuba/">White House</a> has effectively blockaded Havana from Venezuelan oil after Maduro's capture. That has caused an energy and economic crisis in the island country. </p>
<p>Cuba confirmed <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/13/cuba-crisis-energy-oil-diaz-canel-us-talks-trump-rubio.html">it was speaking</a> with the Trump administration about a potential solution last week. Trump also confirmed the talks on Monday. </p>
<p>"I can tell you that they're talking to us; it's a failed nation, they have no oil, they have no nothing," Trump said. "They have nice land."</p>