Donald Trump has raised the possibility of a “friendly takeover of Cuba” as he ramped up pressure on the communist regime in Havana. The US president made the comments to reporters before leaving the White House to deliver remarks in Corpus Christi, Texas before traveling to Florida to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

He said: “The Cuban government is talking with us. They’re in a big deal of trouble, as you know. They have no money, no anything right now. Maybe we’ll have a friendly takeover of Cuba. We could very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba.” These comments came after Wednesday’s confrontation between the Cuban coast guard and a group of US citizens, permanent residents and visa holders. At least four people aboard a boat were killed and others were wounded, when Cuban forces opened fire on an American vessel.

The firefight comes amid heightened tensions between the United States and the communist island, which lies just 100 miles (160 kilometres) across the Florida Straits, AFP reported.

Last month, Mr Trump imposed a fuel blockade on Cuba trying to collapse the regime, which relies heavily on energy and food imports.

US officials reportedly met Thursday with the grandson of 94-year-old former president Raúl Castro, considered the de facto leader of the totalitarian regime, on the sidelines of a conference in the Caribbean attended by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, The Hill reported.

American media also said the Cuban government has instituted emergency measures to deal with the U.S. fuel quarantine and is said to have between six and seven weeks of fuel left before falling into a major blackout.