Why is Cuba in crisis?
Throughline
NPR
4.6 • 16.4K Ratings
🗓️ 19 March 2026
⏱️ 48 minutes
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Summary
Guests:
Eloy Viera, lawyer and journalist for El Toque
Lillian Guerra, Cuban-American history professor at the University of Florida
Maria De Los Angeles Torres, professor of Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of Illinois in Chicago
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Among Cuban Americans in South Florida, expectations are high that after Venezuela and now Iran, |
| 0:06.3 | Cuba might be next on President Trump's list for regime change. |
| 0:10.3 | You know, all my life I've been hearing about the United States and Cuba, when will the United States do it? |
| 0:16.5 | I do believe I'll be the honor of having the honor of taking Cuba. |
| 0:21.6 | That's a big honor. |
| 0:23.6 | Taking Cuba. |
| 0:24.6 | Taking Cuba. |
| 0:25.6 | In some form, yeah. |
| 0:26.6 | Taking Cuba. |
| 0:27.6 | I mean, whether I free it, take it, I think I could do anything I want with it. |
| 0:32.6 | You want another, they're a very weakened nation. |
| 0:36.6 | For 64 years, the U.S. has had an economic embargo on Cuba in hopes that its communist |
| 0:43.9 | government would fall. |
| 0:45.8 | But that hasn't happened. |
| 0:48.1 | The current situation, though, could be different. |
| 0:51.2 | In January, after the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, |
| 0:56.1 | the Trump administration blocked Venezuelan oil from going to Cuba, and they made it very costly |
| 1:02.1 | for any other country to step into health. President Trump says Venezuela will no longer send |
| 1:08.4 | support to Cuba, no oil, no money. |
| 1:14.6 | And it has also promised tariffs on any country that breaks the blockade. |
| 1:18.0 | Cuba is suffering its greatest economic crisis in decades, with the island experiencing blackouts, food shortages, and long gas lines. |
| 1:23.1 | It relies heavily on Venezuelan oil, and without it, experts warned the economy could collapse |
... |
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