Trump says Cuba 'not in a hurricane zone.' He clearly hasn't done his homework

David Goodhue, Miami Herald on Mar 16, 2026

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President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House Monday that Cuba would be ideal for the U.S. to take over because of pleasant weather and it is not prone to hurricanes.

If only that were true.

The island nation, which could be on the cusp of dramatic change after Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel said Friday the country’s open to economic relations with the U.S., is historically one of the hardest hit countries in the Western Hemisphere during the annual hurricane season.

Trump told reporters he believes he’ll “have the honor of taking Cuba” soon, and that would be beneficial to the U.S., specifically because of the country’s lack of hurricanes, he noted.

“I think Cuba, in its own way, tourism and everything else, it’s a beautiful island, great weather. They’re not in a hurricane zone, which is nice for a change, you know? They won’t be asking us for money for hurricanes every week,” Trump said.

This is false.

Since 2000, 11 major hurricanes — Category 3 and above — have crossed over Cuba, according to the New York Times. The country, which is the biggest island in the Caribbean, has also been hit by Category 5 storms, most recently with Hurricane Irma in 2017, which killed at least 10 people, according to the Herald’s archives.

In October, Hurricane Melissa slammed into Cuba’s eastern province of Santiago de Cuba as a powerful Category 3 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of nearly 120 mph.

The storm left thousands without a home. And photos and videos after the storm showed undernourished Cubans, men, women and children dressed in rags and people barely managing in makeshift homes.

By the time hurricanes reach Florida, they have often just finished battering Cuba.

Hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. The most powerful storms tend to come in the later part of the season.

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