The White House Wages Tariff Hikes on Countries Supplying Oil to Cuba

MIAMI - The Trump White House invoked the National Emergency Act on Thursday evening, signing an executive order imposing sanctions on any country supplying oil to Cuba, citing national security concerns.

The president issued an official press release, stating:

“The Government of Cuba has taken extraordinary actions that harm and threaten the United States,” adding, “The regime aligns itself with–and provides support–for numerous hostile countries, transnational terrorist groups, and malign actors adverse to the United States, including the Government of the Russian Federation, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Government of Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah.”

Officials in Washington have warned of the domino effect that may run its course in Cuba following the fall of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, with key cabinet members, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, eyeing the potentially soon demise of the socialist regime in Havana.

Cuba has remained a thorn in the side of U.S. foreign policy in Latin America for almost 70 years, and is one of the last strictly socialist holdouts in the Western Hemisphere.

When asked by a reporter at the First Lady’s Premier for her new documentary in Washington, D.C., for his thoughts on the Cuban situation, President Trump answered, “I don’t think that Cuba will be able to survive.”

The executive order will go into effect at midnight on Friday.