Trump Admin To Shift Hundreds Of Millions In Funding To 'Confront The Marxist, Anti-American Regimes Of Venezuela, Cuba'

The Trump administration said it's shifting hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid to "confront the Marxist, anti-American regimes of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua" as it ramps up pressure on Caracas.

Concretely, it will spend $400 million to the effort, Reuters reported. Overall, the administration will shift $1.8 billion toward "America First" initiatives, also including pursuing investments in Greenland, territory it said it would seek to annex earlier in the administration.

"The national security interests of the United States require that the United States utilize these foreign assistance funds to meet new challenges in ways that make America safer, stronger, or more prosperous," the government said in a Congressional Notification.

A State Department spokesperson told the outlet that it looked forward to working with Congress "on America First Foreign Assistance," as the country will "prioritize trade over aid, opportunity over dependency, and investment over assistance."

The administration has been ramping up pressure on Venezuela in particular, maintaining a presence off the country's coast, including strikes against two vessels it claimed was trafficking drugs that would ultimately end in the U.S.

Earlier this week, the White House dismissed a letter sent by Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro offering direct talks with President Donald Trump, describing the message as "full of lies" and reiterating its stance that Maduro's government is illegitimate and central to drug trafficking operations in the region.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Monday that the administration had reviewed the letter, dated September 6, but said it did not alter U.S. policy toward Venezuela. "Frankly, Maduro repeated many lies in that letter, and the position of the administration on Venezuela has not changed," Leavitt said during a briefing. "We consider the Maduro regime illegitimate, and the president has made clear he is willing to use all necessary means to stop the deadly flow of drugs from Venezuela into the United States."

Cuba, on its end, said the regime won't provide military support to Venezuela should the country enter a war with the U.S.

Speaking to journalist Mehdi Hasan, the official said Cuba will give "its full political support" to Venezuela. When pressed about whether that would extend to military involvement, de Cossio said that was a "very dangerous question to answer," adding that Cuba wouldn't be "going to war with the United States."

De Cossio went on to say that he is "very worried about the prospect of a war," claiming the Trump administration's "threatening stance against Venezuela" is "very irresponsible."

"Believing you can do that without causing a great amount of loss of life, that's a threat to Venezuela and the whole region," he added. Asked what the regime would do if a Cuban boat got hit, de Cossio refused to answer, saying that was a hypothetical scenario.