Noel King

Fidel Castro saw him as a protege and really groomed him to be able to have this sort of brotherly relationship where Cuba would send doctors and, you know, other support to Venezuela in exchange for oil.

Flash forward to 2026.

Nicolas Maduro is toppled.

That is, Nicolas Maduro was Chavez's successor.

The US also launched intense operations to try to establish a blockade in the Caribbean where any Venezuelan oil that was trying to get out illegally, I emphasize illegally, to Cuba or anywhere else would be seized.

And they started doing that quite intensely, maybe dating back to October, November, before Maduro was officially overthrown.

And so that lifeline that Cuba was getting from Venezuela has now been virtually eliminated, on top of the fact that their economy has been crumbling for many years now, in part because of crippling sanctions that the U.S.

has imposed on it, in part because COVID really did a number on their economy and other factors as well.

But that's been key.

From where we sit in early March, we know that both Venezuela and Iran share – have shared a very big question after the U.S.

gets involved, which is who takes over?

Who is set to take over in Cuba?

Who does the U.S.

want in charge?

Well, this is the big question, right?

And the U.S.

does not –

outwardly talk about any particular individuals.

We know that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been talking to the former president's grandson, Raul Castro's grandson, trying to see if they could find some sort of a solution.

There have been sort of back-channel talks between the U.S.