NEW: Trump Hints At ‘Immediate’ U.S. Action In Cuba

President Donald Trump announced Friday, May 1, that the United States would be “taking control” of Cuba in the immediate future.

“There’s this place called Cuba which we will be taking over almost immediately. Cuba’s got problems. We’ll finish one first…I like to finish one first,” the president declared during a speaking event in West Palm Beach, Florida on Friday evening.

He added that after concluding operations related to the Iran conflict, a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier would be redirected toward Cuba. “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,” the president said.

“We’ll have that come in, stop about 100 yards offshore. They’ll say: ‘Thank you very much. We give up’…I like to finish a job.”

The remarks followed Trump’s signing of an executive order earlier that day expanding U.S. sanctions against the Cuban government and its affiliates. The order targeted individuals, entities, and supporters involved in Cuba’s security apparatus, corruption, or human rights violations.

A White House fact sheet described the measures as addressing “the national security threats posed by the communist Cuban regime” and declared the situation with Cuba an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security and foreign policy.