US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened “Cuba is next” following US attacks on Venezuela and Iran.

“Cuba is next, by the way, but pretend I didn’t say that please. Pretend I didn’t say that. Please, please, please media, please disregard that statement. Thank you very much. Cuba’s next.” Trump said at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Miami, Florida.

The remarks came after the US military raided Venezuela and forcibly seized the oil-rich South American country’s president Nicolas Maduro on January 3 and launched the ongoing massive joint attacks with Israel on Iran on February 28.

Cuba has been facing a severe economic and energy crisis due to decades of US sanctions. The United Nations says fuel shortage is pushing the country into a humanitarian crisis.

Earlier this month, Trump threatened that Cuba is going to “fall pretty soon,” but his administration will focus on Iran “right now.”

Trump also warned the governments of Mexico and Colombia that their countries could face US action following the military operation in Venezuela in which American forces seized President Nicolás Maduro and conducted a ‘large scale strike’, The Times of India reports.

The attack comes after Trump suggested the US is willing to put “boots on the ground” in the region due to suspicions of narco-terrorism and drug influence.

Cuba

“I think Cuba is going to be something we’ll end up talking about, because Cuba is a failing nation right now,” Trump said when asked how Cuba should interpret the Venezuelan operation, according to Fox News.

The MAGA chief also said he wants to “help” the people in Cuba: “We want to help the people. It’s very similar in the sense that we want to help the people in Cuba, but we want to also help the people that were forced out of Cuba and living in this country.”

Colombia

Trump also criticised Colombian President Gustavo Petro, claiming the Latin American country has at least three major cocaine factories. “He’s making cocaine. They’re sending it into the United States. So he does have to watch his a**,” Trump said.

Petro is an ally of Maduro and has accused the US of violating UN principles, claiming one strike off Venezuela’s coast targeted civilians.

Mexico

Trump also spoke about Mexico, alleging that President Claudia Sheinbaum is not in control of her country because drug cartels dominate it. “We could be politically correct and be nice and say, ‘Oh yeah she is.’ She is very frightened of the cartels,” Trump said.

He added, “They’re running Mexico. I’ve asked her numerous times would you like us to take out the cartels. ‘No, no, no, Mr. President, no, no, no, please.’ So we have to do something.”

Venezuelan invasion

The operation drew condemnation from the three countries, which said it threatens regional stability. Mexico’s ministry of foreign affairs said Latin America and the Caribbean “is a zone of peace, built on the basis of mutual respect, the peaceful settlement of disputes and the prohibition of the use and threat of force.”

Petro said Colombia’s commitment to “peace, respect for international law, and the protection of life and human dignity.” Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel called the attack as “cowardly, criminal and treacherous.”

• A Tell Media / Xinhua report