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The Daily

After Venezuela, Is Cuba Next?

February 17, 2026 • 32m

Summary

⏱️ 7 min read

Overview

The Daily examines how the Trump administration's aggressive strategy has brought Cuba closer to regime collapse than ever before in its 67-year history. Through deliberate economic pressure—especially cutting off oil supplies by ousting Venezuela's Maduro and threatening tariffs—Secretary of State Marco Rubio is pursuing his decades-long mission to topple the communist government. The episode explores Cuba's history of survival, the current humanitarian crisis, and the uncertain path forward as the island faces what experts call an 'unsustainable' situation.

Cuba at an Unprecedented Breaking Point

After covering Cuba since 1993, reporter Francis Robles explains why this moment feels fundamentally different from past crises. Experts and academics who have long been skeptical are now using the word 'unsustainable' to describe Cuba's current situation. The country produces only 40% of the oil it needs and has been cut off from its traditional suppliers, creating cascading failures across hospitals, schools, transportation, and food distribution systems.

  • Cuba produces only 40% of the oil it needs domestically and previously relied on Venezuela and Mexico for the remaining 60%, but now receives zero external oil
  • Hospitals have shut down, schools reduced schedules, banks open limited days, and food delivery systems are failing due to fuel shortages
  • Experts who have studied Cuba for decades are saying for the first time that the situation is truly unsustainable
" The word that you hear over and over again is unsustainable. This current situation in Cuba is unsustainable. "
" How come Cubans have such short index fingers? Well, it's from banging their finger on the table for years saying, next year we'll be having roast pork in Havana at Christmas. They've been saying this for 60 years, that this is the last year of the Cuban regime. "

Six Decades of Failed U.S. Attempts to Topple Castro

The U.S. has pursued regime change in Cuba since 1960 when Fidel Castro announced his socialist intentions and began confiscating American industries. This sparked a decades-long campaign including the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis that nearly triggered nuclear war, CIA assassination attempts on Castro, and a comprehensive economic embargo designed to isolate and suffocate the regime.

  • After Castro confiscated U.S. oil refineries, sugar industry, telephone companies, and banks in 1960, the U.S. launched its aggressive stance to topple the regime
  • The 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion landing over 1,000 men was an absolute disaster for the United States
  • The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world to the brink of nuclear war when Cuba allowed Russia to place nuclear missiles on the island
  • The CIA attempted to kill Fidel Castro repeatedly through methods including poison cigars, but he always survived

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