February 3rd, 2026: Trump Tightens The Screws On Cuba & Iran Eyes Talks
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
It's Tuesday, the 3rd of February. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. And yes, I'm still on the road. And why yes, thank you for noticing, I am wearing a pinstripe suit. All right. Let's get briefed. First up, President Trump sets his sights on Cuba taking direct aim at the communist regime by moving to choke off its oil lifeline. I'll have the details later in the show. Behind the scenes, diplomacy may be picking up between Washington and Tehran as mediators move to arrange a possible meeting in Turkey. Ah, so that's what President meant when he said help is on its way to the protesters who were killed by the tens of thousands. He meant diplomatic negotiations.
Plus, a deadly wave of attacks in Pakistan sparks a sweeping security crackdown with 145 militants killed over two days of fighting, raising new concerns about the fragile peace with India. And in today's Back of the Brief, a follow-up story that we flagged last week as SpaceX says it has successfully shut down Russian use of stolen Starlink terminals. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. The Trump administration's attention in Latin America has widened from Venezuela to include Cuba, and the White House is now squeezing that communist government at its most vulnerable choke point. That, of course, would be oil. As we've been tracking here on the PDB, Cuba's economy is currently, well, swirling in the toilet bowl.
After years of economic decay, corruption, chronic shortages, and rolling blackouts, Cuba's energy supply has become the regime's Achilles heel, and President Trump is now moving aggressively to exploit it. According to new reporting from the New York Times, the administration is working to completely cut off all remaining oil shipments to the island. The goal is, well, straightforward. Deprive the Cuban government of the fuel that it needs to keep the lights on, the economy functioning, well, sort of, and the regime stable, well, kind of. Taken together, the move carries a very real risk of pushing Cuba's already fragile economy past the breaking point. The strategy follows the collapse of Cuba's primary energy lifeline.
That would be Venezuela. For years, Havana has depended heavily on subsidized oil shipments from Caracas paid well, not just in cash, but through an oil for services arrangement, a barter system, if you will, that sent tens of thousands of Cuban doctors and medical personnel and security advisers into Venezuela to prop up the regime there. But with Maduro ousted and Venezuela's oil now largely diverted to other channels under U.S. control, that lifeline has effectively dried up. The White House has now made clear that it is prepared to punish any country that steps in to fill the gap.
What new measures is Trump implementing against Cuba?
President Trump threatened sweeping tariffs on nations that continue supplying oil to Cuba. Speaking aboard Air Force One, President Trump confirmed that pressure is the point. He said the U.S. is, quote, starting to talk to Cuba even as his administration tightens the screws. The message from the White House seems clear. Negotiations may be possible, but only after Havana feels real pain. That combination of economic force and conditional diplomacy reflects a somewhat familiar Trump era strategy. Apply maximum pressure first and then talk. Now, Mexico, in particular, finds itself caught in the middle of all this. Last year, Mexico accounted for roughly 44% of Cuba's foreign oil supply. And with Venezuelan shipments now gone, Mexico has effectively become one of Cuba's last remaining major oil suppliers.
How are U.S.-Iran diplomatic talks evolving?
Mexican leaders are walking a diplomatic tightrope, caught between maintaining ties with Havana and avoiding punitive trade action from Washington. The threat of tariffs has injected fresh tension into U.S.-Mexico relations and raised the stakes well beyond the Caribbean. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government would ask the U.S. to clarify the scope of Trump's tariffs while also seeking alternative ways to help Cuba, which is already experiencing frequent blackouts from its ongoing energy crisis.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:12–3:00
2
What new measures is Trump implementing against Cuba?
3:00–3:51
3
How are U.S.-Iran diplomatic talks evolving?
3:51–5:42
4
What recent attacks in Pakistan are raising security concerns?
5:42–6:42
5
How is SpaceX addressing the misuse of Starlink in Ukraine?
6:42–7:42
6
What economic pressures is the U.S. applying on Cuba?
7:42–20:21
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from The President's Daily Brief
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