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President Donald Trump predicted late Sunday that Cuba was “ready to fall” after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, warning that Havana can no longer rely on Caracas for security and oil.
Trump said Cuba’s fate is now directly tied to Maduro’s ouster and the collapse of Venezuela’s ability to finance allies in the region.
Asked if he was considering U.S. action in Cuba, Trump responded: “I think it’s just going to go down. I don’t think we need any action. It looks like it’s going down. It’s going down for the count.”
The president’s comments during a press conference with reporters aboard Air Force One came after Maduro and his wife were arrested on Saturday on charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy. The audacious operation has shocked allied governments in the region, with Cuban officials calling for rallies in support of Venezuela and accusing the US of violating sovereignty.
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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he returns to Joint Base Andrews, Md., during a flight on Air Force One, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
US officials say Cuban security forces played a central role in keeping Maduro in power. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Cuban operatives effectively ran Venezuela’s internal intelligence and security operations – including personally protecting Maduro and monitoring loyalty inside his government.
Protesters rally outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in a military operation. (Julia Demari Nikhinson/AP Photo)
“It was the Cuban people who protected Maduro,” Rubio said. “He was not protected by Venezuelan bodyguards. He had Cuban bodyguards.”
The Cuban government acknowledged Sunday that 32 Cuban military and police officers were killed during the US operation in Venezuela, the first official death toll released by Havana. Cuban state media said officials had been deployed at the request of Caracas and declared two days of national mourning.
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Trump confirmed Cuban casualties on his way back to Washington.
“Too many Cubans were killed yesterday,” he said. “There were a lot of deaths on the other side. There were no deaths on our side.”
Venezuelan leaders Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores face a ‘worst-case scenario’ in US custody with federal indictments on drugs and weapons charges, according to an expert. (Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump also targeted neighboring country Colombia and accused its leadership of promoting drug trafficking in America.
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“Colombia is very sick, run by a sick man who loves making cocaine and selling it to the United States,” Trump said, adding that the country “is not going to do this for a very long time.”
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a military ceremony commemorating the 200th anniversary of the presentation of the ‘Sword of Peru’ to Venezuelan independence hero Simon Bolivar on November 25, 2025 in Caracas, Venezuela. (Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)
Citing recent sanctions, he suggested that the US is ready to take action against narco-trafficking networks operating through land and sea.
Trump also revived his long-standing focus on Greenland and argued that the Arctic region is vital to US security amid growing Russian and Chinese activity.
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“We need Greenland from a national security perspective,” Trump said. “Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships everywhere.”
Trump has framed Saturday’s operation as part of a broader effort to reassert US dominance in the Western Hemisphere, invoking the Monroe Doctrine and warning that hostile regimes can no longer rely on each other for survival.
Maduro will be tried in federal court in New York on Monday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
