Cuba Rallies Residents, Prepares for War
This feels like a quiet policy shift.
Log In
Email *
Password *
Remember Me
Forgot Your Password?
Log In
New to The Nation? Subscribe
Print subscriber? Activate your online access
Skip to content Skip to footer
Cuba Rallies Residents, Prepares for War
Magazine
Newsletters
Subscribe
Log In
Search
Subscribe
Donate
Magazine
Latest
Archive
Podcasts
Newsletters
Sections
Politics
World
Economy
Culture
Books & the Arts
The Nation
About
Events
Contact Us
Advertise
Current Issue
January 31, 2026
Cuba Rallies Residents, Prepares for War
As Washington escalates regime-change pressure after the Venezuela raid, Cuba braces for confrontation amid economic collapse, oil shortages, and mass mobilization.
Marc Frank
Share
Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Email
Ad Policy
Cubans take part in the Torchlight March to celebrate the 173rd anniversary of the independence leader José Martí in Havana on January 27, 2026. (Adalberto Roque / AFP via Getty Images)
Cuba’s top officials are putting on their military uniforms to supervise defense exercises and have fanned out across the country urging local leaders to cut red tape, adopt a new mentality, and shake off their lethargy, as the Trump administration escalates regime-change efforts against the island nation after violently abducting strategic ally Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and first lady Celia Flores on January 3.
On Thursday, President Trump issued a menacing executive order alleging that Cuba represents an imminent danger to national security and the region. Titled “Confronting the Cuban Regime,” the order threatens to slap tariffs on any country that exports oil to the socialist nation. It comes as shock waves from events in Venezuela reverberate throughout a land already exhausted from a grueling economic crisis that has left residents navigating collapsing infrastructure and services, runaway inflation, and shortages of basic goods.
Since December, when the United States announced a new national security doctrine based on dominating the Western Hemisphere and then, in early January, attacked Venezuela, the Trump administration has repeatedly threatened that Cuba is next.
With the smoke still lingering over Venezuela from the violent assault that left 32 Cuban military and intelligence personnel dead and others wounded, Trump announced that there would be no more Venezuelan oil or money for Cuba and warned its leaders to make a deal “before it’s too late.”
The rhetoric and threats have continued, with talk of a failed state and what can be done to push it over.
“Cuba will be failing pretty soon. Cuba is really a nation that’s very close to failing,” Trump told reporters this week.
Current Issue
February 2026 Issue
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a Senate hearing Wednesday that US law all but calls for regime change.
“Will you make a public commitment today to rule out US regime change in Cuba?” Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii asked Rubio.
“No. We would love to see that regime change,” he responded.
On Thursday, Florida-based Cuban American politicians and activists called on the Trump administration to cut all flights and remittances to Cuba and take action …
This feels like a quiet policy shift.
Log In
Email *
Password *
Remember Me
Forgot Your Password?
Log In
New to The Nation? Subscribe
Print subscriber? Activate your online access
Skip to content Skip to footer
Cuba Rallies Residents, Prepares for War
Magazine
Newsletters
Subscribe
Log In
Search
Subscribe
Donate
Magazine
Latest
Archive
Podcasts
Newsletters
Sections
Politics
World
Economy
Culture
Books & the Arts
The Nation
About
Events
Contact Us
Advertise
Current Issue
January 31, 2026
Cuba Rallies Residents, Prepares for War
As Washington escalates regime-change pressure after the Venezuela raid, Cuba braces for confrontation amid economic collapse, oil shortages, and mass mobilization.
Marc Frank
Share
Copy Link
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Ad Policy
Cubans take part in the Torchlight March to celebrate the 173rd anniversary of the independence leader José Martí in Havana on January 27, 2026. (Adalberto Roque / AFP via Getty Images)
Cuba’s top officials are putting on their military uniforms to supervise defense exercises and have fanned out across the country urging local leaders to cut red tape, adopt a new mentality, and shake off their lethargy, as the Trump administration escalates regime-change efforts against the island nation after violently abducting strategic ally Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and first lady Celia Flores on January 3.
On Thursday, President Trump issued a menacing executive order alleging that Cuba represents an imminent danger to national security and the region. Titled “Confronting the Cuban Regime,” the order threatens to slap tariffs on any country that exports oil to the socialist nation. It comes as shock waves from events in Venezuela reverberate throughout a land already exhausted from a grueling economic crisis that has left residents navigating collapsing infrastructure and services, runaway inflation, and shortages of basic goods.
Since December, when the United States announced a new national security doctrine based on dominating the Western Hemisphere and then, in early January, attacked Venezuela, the Trump administration has repeatedly threatened that Cuba is next.
With the smoke still lingering over Venezuela from the violent assault that left 32 Cuban military and intelligence personnel dead and others wounded, Trump announced that there would be no more Venezuelan oil or money for Cuba and warned its leaders to make a deal “before it’s too late.”
The rhetoric and threats have continued, with talk of a failed state and what can be done to push it over.
“Cuba will be failing pretty soon. Cuba is really a nation that’s very close to failing,” Trump told reporters this week.
Current Issue
February 2026 Issue
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a Senate hearing Wednesday that US law all but calls for regime change.
“Will you make a public commitment today to rule out US regime change in Cuba?” Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii asked Rubio.
“No. We would love to see that regime change,” he responded.
On Thursday, Florida-based Cuban American politicians and activists called on the Trump administration to cut all flights and remittances to Cuba and take action …
Cuba Rallies Residents, Prepares for War
This feels like a quiet policy shift.
Log In
Email *
Password *
Remember Me
Forgot Your Password?
Log In
New to The Nation? Subscribe
Print subscriber? Activate your online access
Skip to content Skip to footer
Cuba Rallies Residents, Prepares for War
Magazine
Newsletters
Subscribe
Log In
Search
Subscribe
Donate
Magazine
Latest
Archive
Podcasts
Newsletters
Sections
Politics
World
Economy
Culture
Books & the Arts
The Nation
About
Events
Contact Us
Advertise
Current Issue
January 31, 2026
Cuba Rallies Residents, Prepares for War
As Washington escalates regime-change pressure after the Venezuela raid, Cuba braces for confrontation amid economic collapse, oil shortages, and mass mobilization.
Marc Frank
Share
Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Email
Ad Policy
Cubans take part in the Torchlight March to celebrate the 173rd anniversary of the independence leader José Martí in Havana on January 27, 2026. (Adalberto Roque / AFP via Getty Images)
Cuba’s top officials are putting on their military uniforms to supervise defense exercises and have fanned out across the country urging local leaders to cut red tape, adopt a new mentality, and shake off their lethargy, as the Trump administration escalates regime-change efforts against the island nation after violently abducting strategic ally Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and first lady Celia Flores on January 3.
On Thursday, President Trump issued a menacing executive order alleging that Cuba represents an imminent danger to national security and the region. Titled “Confronting the Cuban Regime,” the order threatens to slap tariffs on any country that exports oil to the socialist nation. It comes as shock waves from events in Venezuela reverberate throughout a land already exhausted from a grueling economic crisis that has left residents navigating collapsing infrastructure and services, runaway inflation, and shortages of basic goods.
Since December, when the United States announced a new national security doctrine based on dominating the Western Hemisphere and then, in early January, attacked Venezuela, the Trump administration has repeatedly threatened that Cuba is next.
With the smoke still lingering over Venezuela from the violent assault that left 32 Cuban military and intelligence personnel dead and others wounded, Trump announced that there would be no more Venezuelan oil or money for Cuba and warned its leaders to make a deal “before it’s too late.”
The rhetoric and threats have continued, with talk of a failed state and what can be done to push it over.
“Cuba will be failing pretty soon. Cuba is really a nation that’s very close to failing,” Trump told reporters this week.
Current Issue
February 2026 Issue
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a Senate hearing Wednesday that US law all but calls for regime change.
“Will you make a public commitment today to rule out US regime change in Cuba?” Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii asked Rubio.
“No. We would love to see that regime change,” he responded.
On Thursday, Florida-based Cuban American politicians and activists called on the Trump administration to cut all flights and remittances to Cuba and take action …
