Trump threatens tariffs for countries that sell oil to Cuba

US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on countries that supply oil to Cuba, as Washington steps up a pressure campaign on the Caribbean nation.

The proposed new levies were outlined in an executive order, although no details were given on specific tariff rates or which countries would be targeted.

Trump has repeatedly threatened action against Cuba and its communist leadership.

On Tuesday, the US President said that the country "will be falling pretty soon", with long-time ally Venezuela recently sending no oil or money to Cuba. Previously, it was believed that the South American nation was sending around 35,000 barrels of oil a day to the island.

Trump has been turning his attention to Cuba since US forces seized Venezuela's leader Nicolás Maduro in a 3 January raid on its capital, Caracas.

Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez recently said that the Caribbean island nation had "the absolute right to import fuel" from any willing exporter "without interference or subordination to the unilateral coercive measures of the United States".