Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) issued a stark warning to Cuba while standing beside Donald Trump aboard Air Force One. On Sunday, he suggested that Cuba could be next after the United States’ military raid on Venezuela, which led to the capture of the nation’s president, Nicolás Maduro.
“You know, we had Venezuela, we have Cuba, we have Colombia in our backyard. And these three countries have been condemned ever since I’ve been in politics. Joe Biden put a $25 billion bounty on Madura’s head,” said Graham. He suggested that Democrats should celebrate the raid in Venezuela, adding that next the U.S. is coming for Cuba.
“No military in the world could have done it. And as to this commander-in-chief, he did something people talked about doing. You just wait for Cuba,” he said. “Cuba is a communist dictatorship that’s killed priests and nuns. They’ve prayed for their own people. Their days are numbered,” the senator added.
LINDSEY GRAHAM: “You just wait for Cuba. Cuba is a communist dictatorship that’s killed priests and nuns. They’ve preyed on their own people. Their days are numbered.” pic.twitter.com/BoZkgC9aQ6
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) January 5, 2026
Graham’s statement came after Donald Trump told reporters, “Cuba is ready to fall.” The POTUS added, “Cuba’s going down for the count,” as his senator took the cue to finish the rest of the warning.
Donald Trump has completely toppled the Biden-era Cuba policy since beginning his second term last year. His administration is taking a more hard-line approach, maintaining the country’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. Some restrictive measures have also been put in place on American transactions with state-linked entities in Cuba. To increase both economic and diplomatic pressure, the current administration has also restricted some travel and business activities.
These could be the first steps toward a United States attack on the communist-led Caribbean island, before a military raid is launched.
Meanwhile, the warning came a day after a military-led raid in Venezuela that intensified the political climate in Latin America. On Saturday, armed U.S. forces raided a military base in Caracas, seizing Maduro and his wife. Following the raid, Donald Trump announced that Washington would temporarily “run” Venezuela.
After abducting Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, Trump is now threatening Venezuela’s new acting President Delcy Rodríguez.
Like an imperial mafia boss, Trump said: “If she doesn’t do what’s right” (read: give Venezuela’s oil to US corporations) “she is going to pay a very… pic.twitter.com/C1VFcwkZCe
— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) January 5, 2026
However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio later clarified that the Trump administration will not govern day-to-day, and that only the oil quarantine already enforced will continue. Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has been appointed as the acting president of Venezuela. The POTUS has warned her that she might have to “pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” if she “doesn’t do what’s right.” The Trump administration is demanding “total access” from Rodríguez.
