“No Republican has ever spoken to me about Cuba, ​which is a failed country and only ​heading in one direction - down! Cuba is asking ⁠for help, and we are going to ​talk!!! In the meantime, I’m off to China!” Trump ​wrote in a Truth Social post.

Representatives for the White House and the State Department could not be immediately reached for ​comment. Representatives for Havana also could not ​be immediately reached.

Trump had threatened that Cuba was “next” after the US ‌military ⁠seized the leader of longtime Cuban ally Venezuela earlier this year, and has since imposed fresh financial sanctions and expanded others. His administration has also ​imposed a fuel blockade, ​curtailed US ⁠travel and remittances to the island nation and sought to dissuade regional ​allies from contracting Cuban doctors.

China, where ​Trump ⁠is traveling this week to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, has called on Washington to immediately end its ⁠embargo ​and sanctions on Havana.