WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Friday that "Cuba is gonna fall pretty soon" in a renewed threat to the communist-ruled island already facing a US energy blockade.
"They want to make a deal so badly," Trump told CNN in an interview a day after suggesting that he would turn to an unspecified project for Cuba after the war against Iran.
"We've got plenty of time, but Cuba's ready -- after 50 years," Trump said, explaining that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be his point man on Cuba.
Both Trump and Rubio -- the son of Cuban immigrants -- have made no secret of their desire to bring about regime change in Havana.
Washington has imposed an energy blockade on the Caribbean nation that has seen its fuel stocks plunge, following the US capture of president Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela -- a key oil supplier to Cuba.
No oil has been imported to Cuba since January 9, forcing airlines to curtail flights to the island and deepening a long-running economic crisis.
Havana accuses Trump of seeking to strangle Cuba's economy.
The island, under a US trade embargo since 1962, has for years been mired in a severe economic crisis marked by extended power cuts and shortages of fuel, medicine and food.