US President Donald Trump has declared a state of emergency over what he described as a “national security threat” posed by Cuba. The executive order allows the United States to impose additional tariffs on goods imported from countries that supply Cuba with oil.
Why US Consider Cuba to be a Threat
The state of emergency was declared in a White House statement. According to the document, the Cuban regime cooperates with “hostile countries and terrorist groups.” Trump included Russia on this list.
The statement claims that Cuba hosts “Russia’s largest overseas signals intelligence facility,” which allegedly engages in the theft of classified US national security information. China, Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah were also on the list of the threats. Hamas and Hezbollah are officially designated as terrorist organizations by the United States.
Trump accused the Cuban government of persecuting and torturing political opposition figures. The White House stated that Cuba “persecutes and tortures political opponents, denies free speech and press, profits corruptly from the Cuban people’s misery, and incites chaos by spreading communist ideology across the region.” According to the document, the declaration of a state of emergency was an immediate response to threats to US national security and foreign policy.
Cuba’s Reaction
Havana has condemned US attempts to block fuel supplies to Cuba. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla made the statement on the social media platform X noting that Cuba has been under a strict economic blockade for 65 years. He claimed that such actions now condemn its people to extreme conditions.
According to Rodríguez, the United States is blackmailing other countries and forcing them to join the blockade against Cuba. He claimed that if countries refuse, Trump threatens to impose unfair tariffs on them. To justify these measures, he said, the US government is portraying Cuba as a security threat.
It is worth noting that Cuba had previously condemned a US operation in Venezuela. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel accused the United States of carrying out state terrorism against the people of Venezuela and the American continent as a whole.
Recognition of Russia as a Hostile Country
Donald Trump has previously acknowledged Russia as an aggressor. On September 14, 2025, he commented on casualties in the war between Ukraine and Russia.
“8,000 soldiers have died this week, from both countries. Some more from Russia, but when you’re the aggressor, you lose more,” Trump said.
However, the US president’s statements have been inconsistent. Earlier, The Ukrainian Review reported that Trump had invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to a so-called “Peace Council”. It is intended to oversee the implementation of the US peace plan and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. Trump also invited Belarusian self-proclaimed president Alyaksandr Lukashenka to join the council.
