Trump administration eyes Cuba as possible military victory as Iran talks stall

Published May 23, 2026 6:00am ET



The Trump administration has ratcheted up its pressure campaign on Cuba, the island only 90 miles from the southern tip of Florida, as talks with Iran have still not resulted in a breakthrough.

President Donald Trump has tried to squeeze the communist government for months, dating back to the military’s capture of former Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, which cut off Cuba’s oil lifeline. The administration twisted the island country’s arm further this week with the unveiling of a criminal indictment of former Cuban President Raul Castro and five others of crimes connected to the Feb. 24, 1996, attack on two aircraft operated by the Miami-based Cuban exile group Brothers to the Rescue.

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