Selcuk Uysal
13 March 2026•Update: 13 March 2026
ANKARA
Following President Donald Trump's remarks suggesting a potential US-led "takeover" of Cuba, Senate Democrats have introduced a bill to block any military action without congressional approval.
The resolution was filed Thursday by Democratic senators Tim Kaine, Ruben Gallego, and Adam Schiff.
In a statement, Kaine stated that under the US Constitution, only Congress holds the power to declare war.
He criticized Trump for ordering military actions in regions like the Caribbean, Venezuela, and Iran without seeking congressional approval or explaining his decisions to the public.
Trump’s comments about Cuba were made on March 9 during a news conference in Florida.
Addressing the island's crisis, he suggested a potential US-led "takeover" of Cuba, remarking that whether such an action is friendly or not would hardly matter since the country has already run out of resources and energy.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Cuban American, told senators during a Jan. 28 hearing that the administration is not seeking a direct confrontation with Cuba.
He added: “That doesn't mean that we're going to make a change, but we would love to see a change.”
This legislative push comes amid a period of extreme instability for the island.
Early this month, a massive energy blackout plunged millions of Cubans into darkness, exacerbating a humanitarian crisis already strained by US fuel restrictions and soaring energy tariffs.
These rising costs, coupled with the lack of stable power, have brought US-Cuba relations to their most volatile point in years.
