The Tribune

By Associated Press

President Donald Trump suggested on Thursday that a deal with Cuba may be imminent, though his efforts are on Iran in the meantime.

Speaking in the White House East Room during an event celebrating the Major League Soccer champion Inter Miami team, he told co-owner Jorge Mas, whose family is from Cuba: “You’re gonna go back" and added, “That’s going to be a great day, right?”

Without providing details, Trump said, “We’re going to celebrate that separately. I just want to wait a couple of weeks. I want him to wait a couple of weeks. But we’ll be together again soon, I suspect, celebrating what’s going on in Cuba.”

He added of the island’s government, “They want to make a deal so badly. You have no idea."

Then, referring to Marco Rubio, the president said the secretary of state wants to work on Cuba but is cautious to do so during the conflict with Iran.

“You’re next one’s going to be — we want to do that special – Cuba,” Trump said. “He’s waiting. But he says, “Let’s get this one finished first.’ We could do them all at the same time. But bad things happen. If you watch countries over the years, you do them all too fast, bad things happen.”

Trump didn’t clarify his meaning, but the comments followed his from last week, when he raised that the prospect of a “friendly takeover” of Cuba might be possible without elaborating.

The comments came as swaths of Cuba remained without power following a huge blackout on Wednesday that impacted the western part of the island.

Cuba has long struggled with an aging electric grid and intermittent fuel supplies, but the crisis has deepened in recent months.

Key oil shipments from Venezuela were halted after the United States attacked the South American country in early January. Then later that month, Trump warned that he would impose tariffs on any country that sells or supplies oil to Cuba.

Trump didn’t clarify his meaning Thursday, but the comments followed his from last week, when he raised the prospect of a “friendly takeover” of Cuba might be possible without elaborating.