Trump says US will take control of Cuba ‘almost immediately’

During remarks at the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches in Florida, Trump recognized former Representative Dan Mica, referencing his Cuban background, before making the comment.

"And he comes from, originally, a place called Cuba, which we will be taking over almost immediately," Trump said, drawing laughter. "Cuba’s got problems. We’ll finish one first. I like to finish a job."

"On the way back from Iran, we’ll have one of our big — maybe the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier — the biggest in the world," he continued. "We’ll have that come in, stop about 100 yards offshore, and they’ll say, ‘Thank you very much, we give up.’"

The president did not elaborate further on the remarks, but they came the same day he signed an executive order expanding sanctions on the Cuban government, citing national security concerns. The order targets individuals and entities tied to Cuba’s security apparatus, energy sector, financial services, mining industries, and other parts of the country’s economy.

Trump has previously floated the idea of a “friendly takeover” of Cuba. In February, he told White House reporters that the Secretary of State Marco Rubio was dealing with it at a “very high level.”

"The Cuban government is talking with us, and they're in a big deal of trouble," Trump said at the time. "They have no money. They have no anything right now, but they're talking with us, and maybe we'll have a friendly takeover of Cuba."