Donald Trump said he wants to “get Cuba done” before leaving office in 2029 and would “certainly consider” a short military operation, publicly setting a timeline for possible intervention to topple Cuban authorities for the first time, according to Politico.

In a Thursday interview with Hugh Hewitt, Trump called Cuba a “failed” state, said its government would fall fairly soon and said his administration was closely monitoring Havana; he added that Secretary of State Marco Rubio “would love to do it.”

Trump described Rubio as capable of handling Cuba, while Rubio has called the country a national security threat because of its ties to Russia and China and said the administration prefers negotiated political change to military force.

The remarks come as the Trump administration has tightened sanctions, including a fuel and oil blockade that the article says has contributed to widespread blackouts and shortages of food, water and gasoline.

Alongside a comprehensive economic embargo, the United States has imposed further sanctions on Cuban oil tankers and shipping companies and warned it could target international entities and people doing business in Cuba’s maritime industries.

Cuba’s Embassy in Washington estimated the U.S. blockade cost the country $8 billion from March 2025 to February 2026, and said the latest measures are worsening an energy siege that leaves hospitals without reliable power and families facing blackouts.

Cuba is also grappling with a deepening energy and economic crisis, marked by repeated nationwide blackouts and fuel and food shortages; in May, Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy said the country had run out of fuel oil and diesel.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez condemned the fuel blockade as collective punishment and said Cuba’s future would not be decided by the United States.

A Marist Poll found that 61% of Americans oppose or strongly oppose U.S. military operations in Cuba, compared with 37% who support or strongly support them, while 70% said Congress should approve military action.

Trump has previously floated a “friendly takeover” of Havana and said the White House could turn to Cuba after the Iran war, though analysts have generally viewed further economic pressure as more likely than a U.S. military campaign.

The article connects Trump’s comments to a recent Republican defeat in the midterm elections, which it says followed voter concerns about high prices driven up by the U.S. war with Iran.