Inside Trump’s quiet plan to ‘take’ Cuba
The Take
Al Jazeera
4.7 • 748 Ratings
🗓️ 25 March 2026
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
International convoys are bringing aid to Cuba to protest the US fuel blockade, as Cuba continues to fend off US threats of a takeover. With Cubans continuing to live under prolonged blackouts and the government preparing for military confrontation, can the Cuban government again survive the latest US effort to overthrow it?
In this episode:
- Ed Augustin (@EdAugReporter), Journalist
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Chloe K. Li and Sarí el-Khalili, with Catherine Nouhan, Tuleen Barakat, and our guest host, Kevin Hirten. It was edited by Alexandra Locke and Sarí el-Khalili.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Al Jazeera Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | Today, Cuba is still under darkness as U.S. pressure mounts. |
| 0:16.0 | Now, for the first time in decades, the regime could be on the brink of collapse. |
| 0:22.4 | As President Trump suggests some sort of action could be imminent. |
| 0:27.9 | As blackouts spread under a U.S. fuel blockade and threats grow, Cuba looks outward. |
| 0:34.8 | Can new ties break its isolation before it's too late? |
| 0:40.3 | I'm Kevin Horton, and this is the take. |
| 0:47.3 | As we continue to work hard to bring you the latest from Iran, are there other stories from other countries that you want us to cover here on the take? |
| 0:59.2 | As we know, the news cycle is relentless, and we are doing our very best to bring you the most pressing news from around the world. |
| 1:05.4 | So drop us a comment. Let us know what's going on in your head. |
| 1:10.3 | And don't forget to leave us a review on your |
| 1:12.4 | podcast app that does help others find the show. Thank you. |
| 1:18.7 | My name's Ed Augustin. I'm the British reporter and I'm speaking to you from Havana, Cuba. |
| 1:24.0 | Okay, Ed, welcome to the take. It is great to have you back. It's been a while since we talked, and a lot is going on. So there's mounting U.S. pressure on Cuba. There's fuel shortages, which are driving blackouts across the island, and the rhetoric is getting increasingly sharp. I want to play you two clips, and then we can discuss. So first one is U.S. President Donald Trump speaking last week. |
| 1:45.1 | I do believe I'll be the honor of having the honor of taking Cuba. |
| 1:52.5 | And here's Cuban deputy foreign minister Carlos Fernandez de Cosio. He's responding to NBC's Meet the Press. |
| 1:59.6 | Our military is always prepared. And in fact it is preparing these days for the possibility of military aggression. |
| 2:08.0 | We would be naive if looking at what's happening around the world, we would not do that. |
| 2:13.4 | Video call recording software is extremely restricted in Cuba. |
| 2:17.3 | So while recording the interview with our guests, our connection failed. So the rest of this episode, Video call recording software is extremely restricted in Cuba. |
| 2:20.2 | So while recording the interview with our guests, our connection failed. |
| 2:23.1 | So the rest of this episode will be audio only. |
... |
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