US President Donald Trump poses for a photo at the start of the “Shield of the Americas” Summit at Trump National Doral in Miami, Florida, March 7, 2026. President Trump is hosting a dozen right-wing leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean to discuss issues facing the region, from organized crime to illegal immigration. The summit also aims to serve Washington by boosting US interests in the region and curbing those from foreign powers like China. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)
SAUL LOEB
AFP via Getty Images
President Donald Trump said Cuba is “in its last moments of life,” revealed that he’s personally involved in negotiations to enact change on the island and defended his administration’s close partnership with Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodríguez to a room of Latin American and Caribbean leaders on Saturday.
“Cuba’s at the end of the line, they’re very much at the end of the line,” Trump said at the Shield of the Americas Summit at his golf course and country club in Doral. “It’ll have a great new life, but it’s in its last moments of life the way it is.”
He said this administration’s focus right now is on Iran, but joked that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will “take an hour off” and then “finish up a deal with Cuba.”
U.S. officials close to Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Raul Castro’s grandson in late February to discuss a potential rollback of U.S. sanctions in exchange for Cuban leaders enacting changes on the island. The country is veering toward a humanitarian crisis under a crippling U.S. oil blockade after the U.S. capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro, whose administration previously supplied oil to Cuba.
Trump told the room he’s been personally involved with negotiations with Cuba too: “They want to negotiate and they are negotiating with Marco and myself and some others,” he said.
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President Donald Trump addresses the first Summit of the Americas on March 7, 2026, at Trump National Doral Miami. Claire Heddles Miami Herald
“Four of you said, actually, could you do us a favor? Take care of Cuba. I’ll take care of it,” Trump said, to applause from the room. Rubio did not answer questions from press about whether he was considering military action in Cuba.
Trump was hosting leaders from across Latin America and the Caribbean in Doral for what the White House describes as a landmark summit aimed at reshaping regional alliances and reinforcing U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere.
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President Donald Trump surrounded by leaders of American states at the first Summit of the Americas on March 7, 2026, at Trump National Doral Miami. Claire Heddles Miami Herald
The city is colloquially known as Doralzuela for its large Venezuelan expat community. Many Venezuelans in Doral are skeptical of the U.S. working closely with Rodríguez, a Maduro ally, with no clear plan for democratic elections in the country in sight. Trump said he’ll keep praising her as long as she does what he wants.
“She’s doing a great job because she’s working with us, so if she wasn’t working with us, I would not say she’s doing a great job. If she wasn’t working with us, I’d say she’s doing a very poor job. Unacceptable,” Trump told a room of leaders skeptical of the Maduro regime.
“But she’s doing a great job, Marco, right?” Sitting in the first row, Rubio did not react. “Gets along great with Marco.”
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President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio listen to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth address the first Summit of the Americas on March 7, 2026, at Trump National Doral Miami. Claire Heddles Miami Herald
Recently ousted Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was named as the U.S. special envoy to Trump’s new Shield of the Americas initiative. But she received no accolades from Trump during his remarks Saturday. He gave her only a brief introduction and was not invited to speak on stage like Secretaries Rubio and Pete Hegseth.
This story was originally published March 7, 2026 at 11:46 AM.
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Miami Herald
Claire Heddles is the Miami Herald’s senior political correspondent. She previously covered national politics and Congress from Washington, D.C at NOTUS. She’s also worked as a public radio reporter covering local government and education in East Tennessee and Jacksonville, Florida.