Trump says 'Cuba is next' as he highlights America's 'great' military

▲ U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Future Investment Initiative Institute's summit in Miami Beach, Florida on March 27, 2026, in this photo released by the Associated Press. (Yonhap)

Trump-Cuba

Trump says 'Cuba is next' as he highlights America's 'great' military

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, March 28 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that "Cuba is next," as he pointed out his administration's use of America's "great" military in Iran and Venezuela.

Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative Priority Summit in Florida, Trump also renewed calls for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as his administration seeks an off-ramp from the hostilities amid mounting concerns over the war's economic ramifications.

"When I went into Venezuela, I said, 'Because I campaigned on the fact, peace through strength.' ... I built this great military. I said, 'You will never have to use it.' But sometimes you have to use it," he said of the U.S. military operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in January.

"And Cuba's next by the way, but pretend I didn't say that ... Media, please disregard that statement," he added in a somewhat casual tone.

His remarks came amid lingering speculation that Trump could shift his attention to other potential adversaries, including Cuba, after the war in Iran comes to an end.

During the speech, Trump reiterated that negotiations to end the war with Iran are under way, and that Iranian negotiators are "begging to make a deal."

"We are negotiating now, and (it would) be great if we could do something," he said. "But they have to open (the strait) up."

Trump claimed that Iran earlier denied the negotiations in progress, but later admitted it and sent 10 ships of oil "in order to make up for their misstatement."

The Trump administration has ratcheted up diplomatic efforts to end the Middle East conflict, including making a 15-point peace proposal to Iran through Pakistani mediators and extending a pause on U.S. strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure to April 6 despite a reported decision to send more troops to the Middle East.

Commenting on Iran's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, Trump said that he is "either dead or in very bad shape." Khamenei succeeded his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on Feb. 28, the opening day of the U.S. military campaign, codenamed "Operation Epic Fury."

"Their leaders are dead. Their supreme leader is no longer supreme. He's dead," he said. "The son is either dead or in very bad shape because no one has heard from him. I think he's saying, 'just keep me out of this.'"

He reiterated his frustration over the refusal by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to join the war.

"We are very disappointed, by the way, with NATO. They did not come to our aid," he said.

He went on to say, "I always said NATO is a paper tiger."

"I always said we help NATO, but they will never help us," he said.

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