00:00Cuba is a failing nation, and you have to feel badly for Cuba.
00:08Something that's just not going to be able to survive. I think Cuba will not be able to survive.
00:16President Donald Trump just declared a national security emergency.
00:21Not over China, not over Russia, but over Cuba.
00:24And this time, the weapon isn't sanctions alone. It's tariffs aimed at any country that dares to sell oil to Havana.
00:33On Thursday, Trump signed a sweeping executive order that could dramatically escalate pressure on Cuba,
00:40and on the countries that still do business with it.
00:44The message was blunt. If you provide oil to Cuba, your exports to the United States could soon face new tariffs.
00:52The order declares that Cuba's government poses an unusual and extraordinary threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy.
01:02It doesn't automatically impose new tariffs. Instead, it creates a framework.
01:08If a country is found to be directly or indirectly supplying oil to Cuba,
01:14multiple U.S. agencies, including Commerce, Treasury, State, Homeland Security, and the U.S. Trade Representative,
01:22will evaluate whether retaliatory tariffs should be imposed.
01:27The final decision? That still rests with President Trump.
01:30This matters because oil is Cuba's lifeline.
01:40The island's economy is already struggling with blackouts, fuel shortages, and infrastructure collapse.
01:47For years, Venezuela kept Cuba afloat with subsidized oil, but that pipeline has dried up.
01:54Trump has been blunt about it, saying Cuba has no income left and is ready to fall.
02:01Cutting off oil doesn't just hurt the government, it brings the entire system closer to crisis.
02:07The administration argues this isn't about punishing civilians.
02:11Trump says Cuba is a failing nation whose government has treated its people badly,
02:17especially Cuban Americans who fled the island decades ago.
02:20He insists this is about forcing political change, not choking the population.
02:27At a red carpet event for a documentary about Melania Trump,
02:31he said he feels badly for Cuba, but believes the regime can't survive much longer.
02:37Are you trying to choke off Cuba?
02:39I don't know. The word choke off is awfully tough.
02:43Cuba is a failing nation, and you have to feel badly for Cuba.
02:47We've treated people very badly. We have a lot of Cuban Americans who really were treated very badly,
02:53and they'd probably like to go back.
02:55And, no, I'm not trying to, but it looks like it's something that's just not going to be able to survive.
03:01I think Cuba will not be able to survive.
03:04In the executive order, the White House accuses Cuba of aligning with America's adversaries,
03:10including Russia, China, Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah.
03:15That framing turns Cuba from a regional issue into a global one,
03:19and raises the stakes for countries deciding whether to keep trading with Havana.
03:25The timing is important.
03:27Just days earlier, Mexico's president confirmed her country is still sending oil to Cuba.
03:32Trump and Mexico's leader spoke by phone shortly after,
03:37a call Trump described as very productive, focused on borders, trade, and security.
03:44Whether oil shipments were discussed directly isn't clear,
03:47but Mexico is now squarely in the spotlight.
03:51All of this is happening as the Supreme Court may soon rule
03:54on whether Trump can legally use emergency powers to impose tariffs at all.
04:00That decision could either reinforce this strategy, or put major limits on it.
04:06This move is about more than Cuba.
04:08It's about leverage, alliances, and how far the U.S. is willing to go
04:13to force political change without firing a shot.
04:17Whether it brings negotiations or deeper hardship
04:20depends on how Cuba's partners respond.
04:23And that's the next chapter to watch.
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