Only hours after American special forces grabbed(抓获，抓捕) Venezuela’s dictator(① 背景：现实中的委内瑞拉总统马杜罗自2...) from Caracas on January 3rd, Donald Trump said that Cuba was “going down(倒下，被击败)” next. Since then he has leant on(向…施压) Venezuela’s new ruler, who wishes to avoid being kidnapped like her predecessor, to cut off the supply of cheap oil to Cuba. As the island suffers blackouts(停电), Mr Trump is urging its regime to make a deal with him “before it is too late”.
1月3日，美国特种部队从加拉加斯抓获委内瑞拉独裁者后仅数小时，唐纳德·特朗普就表示古巴将是下一个“倒下”的。此后，他向委内瑞拉的新统治者施压，后者希望避免像前任一样被绑架，要求其切断向古巴供应廉价石油。随着岛屿遭遇停电，特朗普敦促古巴政权“在为时已晚之前”与他达成协议。
Mr Trump is right to want Cuba to change. Its communist rulers are vile(邪恶的，可恨的). For nearly seven decades they have locked up dissidents(持不同政见者) and impoverished(使贫困) their compatriots. Ordinary Cubans struggle to afford food or medicine. Cronies of the regime dominate the government-run economy and live large(过着奢华生活). Cuba is also a (mild) threat to American security; it lets Russia and China run listening posts(监听站) less than 200km from Florida.
特朗普希望古巴改变是正确的。其共产主义统治者是邪恶的。近七十年来，他们关押异见人士，使同胞陷入贫困。普通古巴人难以负担食物或药品。政权的亲信主导着政府控制的经济，过着奢侈的生活。古巴也是对美国安全的（轻微）威胁；它允许俄罗斯和中国在距佛罗里达不到200公里的地方运行监听站。
Negotiating in the dark
在黑暗中谈判
The oil embargo(禁运) has made Cubans even more miserable than before. It has also brought the regime to the negotiating table(迫使政权谈判). A few political prisoners have been freed, and a flurry of(一连串的) economic reforms have been announced. On March 16th the regime said it would let Cubans living abroad wholly own businesses in Cuba. But Mr Trump and Marco Rubio, his Cuban-American secretary of state, often say they want much more: nothing short of(无异于，简直是) regime change.
石油禁运使古巴人更加痛苦。这也将政权带到了谈判桌上。一些政治犯已被释放，并宣布了一系列经济改革。3月16日，政权表示将允许居住在国外的古巴人在古巴完全拥有企业。但特朗普和他的古巴裔美国国务卿马可·鲁比奥经常表示，他们想要更多：无异于政权更迭。