US imperial policy towards Latin America and the Caribbean is characterised by a combination of dominance ambitions and exclusivity claims. Through drastic coercive measures, Washington is forcing an economic transformation in Venezuela without paving the way for a political transition. At the same time, it is imposing a fuel blockade on Cuba and threatening to take over that country. Above all, Germany and the EU should support civil society in Venezuela and Cuba. Furthermore, they should unequivocally acknowledge the already existing violations of international law and adopt a firm stance against the normalisation of violence and disregard for human rights.
On 3 January 2026, as part of the military operation “Absolute Resolve”, the US government under Donald Trump abducted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in Caracas. Around 100 people were killed during the operation; they included members of the Venezuelan security apparatus – among them, 32 Cuban military personnel – and civilians. There were no US fatalities. At the White House press conference on the same day, US President Donald Trump announced: “We are going to run [Venezuela] until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition.”
Now Trump is directing his imperial ambitions towards Cuba as well. On 16 March 2026 he stated that he could simply “take” the country and do what he wants with it. Since January 2026, Washington has blocked Venezuelan oil exports to Cuba, which previously sourced around 70 per cent of its oil imports from Venezuela and paid for them by seconding military and civil personnel. In his executive order of 29 January 2026, Trump imposed tariffs on states transporting oil to Cuba. Before the arrival of a Russian oil tanker at the end of March, the country had, in effect, been under a total blockade. As a result, the economic and humanitarian situation in Cuba has deteriorated dramatically owing to the country’s heavy dependence on oil imports. Meanwhile, both Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio have called for a change at the top of the political leadership in Cuba, as has already taken place in Venezuela.
Legal experts in the US, Germany and the United Nations are largely agreed that the recent actions of the United States against Venezuela and Cuba are in violation of international law.
About the author
Dr Claudia Zilla is a Senior Fellow in The Americas Research Division at SWP.