00:00As tensions continue to rise in the Middle East with the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz,
00:04new reporting suggests the U.S. may be turning its military focus to a communist-led country
00:08that's closer to home. Cuba's a failing nation and we're going to do this and we may stop by
00:15Cuba after we're finished with this. First Venezuela, then Iran. But even as the conflict
00:20with Iran is ongoing, could the Pentagon now be eyeing Cuba as its next military target?
00:26Here's what you need to know. Although much of the Pentagon's focus has been on Iran and
00:30Operation Epic Fury, U.S. relations with neighboring Cuba have been reaching a boiling point.
00:36In what became one of the most contentious moments in the 67 years since Fidel Castro overthrew what
00:41had once been a close U.S. ally, Trump threatened the U.S.'s communist neighbor in February with a
00:47quote, friendly takeover, and that it would be his quote, honor to take control of the island.
00:52You know, all my life I've been hearing about the United States and Cuba. When will the United
00:57States do it? I do believe I'll be the honor of having the honor of taking Cuba. That's a big
01:06honor. Taking Cuba? Taking Cuba in some form, yeah. Since last December, the U.S. imposed a blockade
01:12around Venezuela as part of its Operation Southern Spear effort and used that to cut off oil supplies
01:18to Cuba, which has since plunged further into an energy crisis. The lack of oil caused the
01:23country's already teetering power grid to continuously collapse, leaving Cubans in darkness.
01:29At the end of March, Trump finally conceded to allow a Russian flag tanker filled with crude oil to
01:34dock at the communist nation. Trump told reporters that he needed the small island nation to quote,
01:40survive, but that didn't mean his beef with the country was over. Cuba's president, Miguel Diaz-Canel,
01:46who the Trump administration has privately signaled must step down, said on March 13th that his
01:51government was in talks with the U.S. to find quote, solutions through dialogue. But tensions still
01:57flared between the two nations, leaving President Trump to muse that after operations in Iran end,
02:02Cuba could be next. And new reporting from USA Today suggests that the administration may be following
02:19through with that promise. Sources told the outlet that the Pentagon is quietly ramping up its military
02:24preparedness for operations in Cuba should Trump dish out an order. Diaz-Canel has been on the media
02:30offensive revealing to NBC's Meet the Press, he is willing to die resisting President Trump.
02:36If the time comes, I don't think there would be any justification for the United States
02:41to launch a military aggression against Cuba or for the U.S. to undertake a surgical operation or
02:49the kidnapping of a president. If that happens, there will be fighting and there will be a struggle.
02:54And we will defend ourselves. And if we need to die, we'll die. Because as our national anthem
02:59says, it's time for the home that needs to live. Diaz-Canel called the prospect of cutting a deal with
03:04the U.S. quote, very difficult, and pointed to the strikes against Iran during negotiations over its
03:10nuclear program as evidence that America can't be trusted. The U.S. has demanded that Cuba release
03:16its political prisoners, allow multi-party elections, and permit a free press. Amid mounting pressures
03:22with the U.S., Cuba announced it would release 2010 prisoners as a, quote, humanitarian gesture.
