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? 

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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.

The Trump administration is ramping up pressure on Cuba&rsquo;s regime. Just this month, it indicted former President Ra&uacute;l Castro, announced the deployment of additional military assets to the region and released a video message &mdash; featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio &mdash; blaming Cuba&rsquo;s economic troubles on its government.
The push comes less than five months after the US captured one of Havana&rsquo;s staunchest allies, Venezuela&rsquo;s Nicol&aacute;s Maduro, which choked Cuba&rsquo;s oil supplies and plunged the island into darkness.
On today&rsquo;s Big Take podcast, host David Gura and Bloomberg State Department reporter Eric Martin discuss what&rsquo;s next for Cuba&rsquo;s regime, how President Trump&rsquo;s Venezuela playbook is &mdash; and isn&rsquo;t &mdash; playing out in Havana and the challenges both nations face as they adapt to Trump&rsquo;s vision for the Western Hemisphere.
Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-22/can-cuba-s-regime-survive-rising-us-pressure">Can Cuba&rsquo;s Regime Survive Rising US Pressure?</a>&nbsp;
We have a special Bloomberg subscription offer for podcast listeners at <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/subscriptions/podcasts">Bloomberg.com/podcastoffer.</a>
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.

The Big Take from Bloomberg News brings you inside what’s shaping the world's economies with the smartest and most informed business reporters around the world. The context you need on the stories that can move markets. Every afternoon.

The Big Take from Bloomberg News brings you inside what’s shaping the world's economies with the smartest and most informed business reporters around the world. The context you need on the stories that can move markets. Every afternoon.

Big Take

US Ramps Up Threats to Cuba With Trump’s Venezuela Blueprint

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/d57b8aa8-a92c-42fa-9475-b456015651ee/transcript