• What Happened: President Trump told CNN Friday that Cuba "is gonna fall pretty soon," revealing he plans to deploy Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Cuba to negotiate once Iran operations wrap up.
  • Why It Matters: Cuba is in freefall — massive blackouts have left half of Havana without power, fuel is nearly gone, and the Venezuelan oil lifeline was cut off after Trump ordered the takedown of Nicolas Maduro in January.
  • Bottom Line: After 65 years of communist tyranny 90 miles from Florida, Trump is eyeing the kill shot — and Rubio, a Cuban-American, is the man he's putting on the job.

Fifty years of waiting may finally be over. President Trump told CNN Friday morning that Cuba's communist regime is on its last legs, and he's sending Secretary of State Marco Rubio to finish the job.

"Cuba is gonna fall pretty soon, by the way, unrelated, but Cuba is gonna fall too. They want to make a deal so badly," Trump told CNN's Dana Bash in a phone interview. "They want to make a deal, and so I'm going to put Marco over there and we'll see how that works out. We've got plenty of time, but Cuba's ready — after 50 years." 

Trump was characteristically blunt about who deserves the credit. "I've been watching it for 50 years, and it's fallen right into my lap because of me," he said. 

The comments came one day after Trump told a White House crowd that it was only a "question of time" before Cuban-Americans could return to their homeland, and after Sen. Lindsey Graham declared on Fox News Sunday: "Cuba's next." 

The regime's collapse isn't hypothetical — it's already underway. Cuba's economic crisis has intensified sharply since the United States halted Venezuelan oil shipments after ordering an attack on Venezuela in early January. Cuban government media reported two power plants are offline due to lack of petroleum, and a massive blackout this week knocked out power across the western half of the island, leaving millions in Havana in the dark. Last month, Cuba implemented austere fuel-saving measures, halting public transportation and moving classes online.

Trump confirmed the U.S. is already in direct contact with Cuban leadership. When asked if the administration was helping facilitate the regime's collapse, Trump responded: "Well, what do you think?" 

"Maybe we'll have a friendly takeover of Cuba," Trump added. "We could very well have a friendly takeover of Cuba." 

Rubio, whose parents fled Cuba before the revolution, has been described by Trump as doing "a fantastic job" and was personally singled out at the White House: "He's doing some job, and your next one is going to be, we want to do that special Cuba. He's waiting." 

Iran finishes first. But Cuba is next. And Trump just told the world.