US Ramps Up Threats to Cuba With Trump’s Venezuela Blueprint
US Ramps Up Threats to Cuba With Trump’s Venezuela Blueprint  
Podcast: Big Take
Published On: Tue May 26 2026
Description: The Trump administration is ramping up pressure on Cuba’s regime. Just this month, it indicted former President Raúl Castro, announced the deployment of additional military assets to the region and released a video message — featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio — blaming Cuba’s economic troubles on its government. The push comes less than five months after the US captured one of Havana’s staunchest allies, Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, which choked Cuba’s oil supplies and plunged the island into darkness. On today’s Big Take podcast, host David Gura and Bloomberg State Department reporter Eric Martin discuss what’s next for Cuba’s regime, how President Trump’s Venezuela playbook is — and isn’t — playing out in Havana and the challenges both nations face as they adapt to Trump’s vision for the Western Hemisphere. Read more: Can Cuba’s Regime Survive Rising US Pressure?  We have a special Bloomberg subscription offer for podcast listeners at Bloomberg.com/podcastoffer. Hosted by David Gura; Produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Reported by Eric Martin; Edited by Jeffrey Grocott. Fact-checking by Laura Newcombe; Engineering by Alex Sugiura. Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.