Trump predicts a Cuba deal while Havana calls the fuel blockade collective punishment
The president said he does not think the military will be needed, days after telling the United Nations that Cuba's government will fail.
Assembled by Claude from 12 sources at 12 outlets · Saturday, September 26, 2026, Evening edition, 5:25 PM EDT · no human byline
What happened
President Donald Trump predicted on Saturday that the United States and Cuba will reach an agreement usnews.comsg.news.yahoo.com. Asked whether military action was planned amid reports that reserves have been activated, Trump said "Cuba and us will make a deal" and that he does not think the military will be needed nbcmiami.comusatoday.com. He said Cuba "is failing very badly" foxnews.com. The remarks followed comments this week at the United Nations that Cuba's government "will fail" usatoday.com.
Havana's answer came from Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, who condemned the US fuel restrictions and the secondary sanctions imposed on entities that help supply the island telesurenglish.net. Rodríguez described the situation as a "true act of collective punishment" en.cibercuba.com. Cuba's delegation walked out during a US speech at the General Assembly aljazeera.com.
China used its own General Assembly address to push back against Washington over both Iran and Cuba, telling the United States to stop using threats cbc.catimesofindia.indiatimes.com. The Hindu noted that the comments stood in sharp contrast to the bonhomie on display earlier in the week at the White House, where Trump hosted Xi Jinping thehindu.com.
Why it matters to investors
The measure doing the economic work is an energy blockade, not a tariff. A US-imposed oil blockade implemented earlier this year is in place sg.news.yahoo.com, and the fuel restrictions have reportedly affected Cuba's ability to import fuel telesurenglish.net. The administration has layered secondary sanctions on entities that supply the island telesurenglish.net, which extends counterparty risk to shippers, traders and insurers outside Cuba, as the parallel Iran campaign has already done.
This sits on top of an economic embargo the United States has maintained for more than 60 years aljazeera.com, and the administration has previously said it wants a change in Cuba's government yahoo.comsg.news.yahoo.com.
What to watch
The immediate gap to watch is between Trump's prediction of a deal and the stated goal of changing the government in Havana usnews.comyahoo.com. Those two positions are not obviously compatible, and neither Trump nor the State Department has set out what a deal would contain usatoday.com.
The reported activation of reserves is the other thread nbcmiami.com. Trump's answer, that he does not think the military will be needed, is a forecast rather than a decision, and Fox News reported him fielding questions specifically about a military action plan for Cuba foxnews.com. For anyone exposed to regional shipping or fuel logistics, the operative question is whether the secondary-sanctions perimeter widens further telesurenglish.neten.cibercuba.com.
Sources
- usnews.com: Trump Predicts Cuba and US Will Make a Deal (2026-09-26)
- usatoday.com: Trump on Cuba : 'I don't think we'll need the military.' (2026-09-26)
- nbcmiami.com: Trump says ' Cuba and us will make a deal,' doesn't think military will be needed (2026-09-26)
- aljazeera.com: Cuba condemns US 'collective punishment' as Trump predicts deal - Al Jazeera (2026-09-26)
- yahoo.com: Cuba condemns US 'collective punishment' as Trump predicts deal - Yahoo (2026-09-26)
- foxnews.com: Trump hopeful for possible deal with Cuba | Fox News Video (2026-09-26)
- cbc.ca: China pushes back against U.S. on Iran, Cuba in UN speech | CBC News (2026-09-26)
- thehindu.com: China pushes back against U.S. on Iran and Cuba in UN speech - The Hindu (2026-09-26)
- timesofindia.indiatimes.com: 'Stop using threats': China takes veiled shot at US over Cuba & Iran in sharply critical UN speech (2026-09-26)
- telesurenglish.net: Cuba energy blockade: Bruno Rodríguez condemns U.S. fuel restrictions - teleSUR English (2026-09-26)
- sg.news.yahoo.com: Trump Predicts U.S. And Cuba Will Reach An Agreement - Yahoo News Singapore (2026-09-26)
- en.cibercuba.com: Bruno Rodríguez defends the Cuban Parliament: "There are no billionaires." - CiberCuba (2026-09-26)