President Donald Trump said there could be a “friendly takeover of Cuba,” though did not go into specifics, while taking questions from reporters while departing the White House on Friday.

The comment came after being asked about a deadly confrontation off the coast of Cuba on Wednesday, in which Cuban officials said people on a U.S.-registered speedboat fired upon Cuban border troops in an alleged attempt to “carry out an infiltration for terrorist purposes.”

Asked what he thought the boat was doing in Cuba and if he believed the Cuban government’s telling of events, Trump responded, “The Cuban government is talking with us. They’re in a big deal of trouble, as you know. They have no money, they have no anything right now. But they’re talking with us.”

He then said, “Maybe we’ll have a friendly takeover of Cuba.”

“We could very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba,” Trump continued.

Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio is “dealing” with Cuba “and at a very high level.”

“You know, they have no money, they have no oil, they have no food and it’s really, right now, a nation in deep trouble and they want our help,” he said.

The remarks come a month after Trump announced a plan to impose additional tariffs on countries that provide oil to Cuba, declaring a national security emergency regarding the island nation.

In a Jan. 29 executive order, Trump said the “policies, practices, and actions of the Government of Cuba constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat,” with regard to U.S. national security and foreign policy. 

The order includes retaliatory tariffs on products sold in the U.S. from “any other country that directly or indirectly sells or otherwise provides any oil to Cuba.”

A month into the fuel blockade, a senior United Nations official warned on Thursday that as a result of Trump’s executive order, the “humanitarian consequences are deepening by the day” in Cuba.

Trump on Friday did not provide any further updates on Wednesday’s deadly boat shootout.

Following the incident, Rubio said on Wednesday that the U.S. was working to independently verify what happened.

The Cuban government said Thursday that it is sharing information with the U.S. through the channels that exist between the two countries.

Cuban officials said people on a Florida-registered speedboat opened fire on Cuban border guard troops as they approached the boat in an attempt to identify it.

Four people on the boat were killed and another six were injured and detained in the shootout, according to the Cuban Ministry of Interior. Among them, at least one American citizen was killed and another injured in the incident, two U.S. State Department officials and a White House official told ABC News on Thursday.

Singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka died Friday at the age of 86, ABC News has confirmed.

“Our family is devastated by the sudden passing of our beloved husband, father and grandfather, Neil Sedaka,” read a statement from the musician’s family. “A true rock and roll legend, an inspiration to millions, but most importantly, at least to those of us who were lucky enough to know him, an incredible human being who will be deeply missed.”

Sedaka rose to fame in the late ’50s and early ’60s, thanks to popular hits like “Calendar Girl,” “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen,” “Oh! Carol,” and what became his signature song, “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” which went to No. 1 in 1962. In 1975, he released a slowed-down version of the same song, which became a top 10 hit in 1976 and earned him a Grammy nomination.

Sedaka’s career as an artist saw a decline in the mid-’60s, due to the popularity of The Beatles and the so-called British Invasion, although he had continued success writing songs for other artists like Frank Sinatra, The Monkees and others. 

He also remained a successful performer in the U.K. where he released a trio of popular albums: “Emergence,” “Solitaire” and “The Tra-La Days Are Over. “Those albums prompted Elton John to signed Sedaka to his Rocket Records label, and helped reintroduce him to American audiences.

Sedaka saw a renewed popularity as a performer in the mid-’70s, thanks to the albums released on John’s label. One, “Sedaka’s Back,” featured the No. 1 song the “Laughter in the Rain,” while “The Hungry Years” included another No.1 hit, “Bad Blood,” with an uncredited Elton John on backing vocals.

Sedaka also maintained a successful songwriting career, writing tunes for other artists, including the Captain and Tennille song “Love Will Keep Us Together,” which went to No. 1 and earned Sedaka and co-writer Howard Greenfield a Grammy for record of the year. 

Sedaka was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983, which also gave him the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.

President Donald Trump has ordered U.S. government agencies to stop using Anthropic’s products, just hours before the deadline the Pentagon set for the AI company to agree to its terms.

“I am directing EVERY Federal Agency in the United States Government to IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic’s technology. We don’t need it, we don’t want it, and will not do business with them again! There will be a Six Month phase out period for Agencies like the Department of War who are using Anthropic’s products, at various levels,” Trump posted on his social media platform.

“Anthropic better get their act together, and be helpful during this phase out period, or I will use the Full Power of the Presidency to make them comply, with major civil and criminal consequences to follow,” Trump added.

ABC News has reached out to Anthropic for comment.

The AI company’s CEO has made clear that despite threats from the Pentagon, they refuse to drop their two key demands: no use of its artificial intelligence for fully autonomous weapons — meaning AI, not humans, making final battlefield targeting decisions — and no mass domestic surveillance.

Anthropic told ABC News that amid negotiations, the latest contract language from the Pentagon does not fully commit that the military will not use their technology for those two use cases.

In fact, Anthropic said the “new language” added into the contract by the department would allow their safeguards to be “disregarded at will.”

“The contract language we received from the Department of War made virtually no progress on preventing Claude’s use for mass surveillance of Americans or in fully autonomous weapons,” Anthropic told ABC News.

The company added, “New language framed as compromise was paired with legalese that would allow those safeguards to be disregarded at will. Despite DOW’s recent public statements, these narrow safeguards have been the crux of our negotiations for months.”

Top members of the Senate Armed Services Committee have sent a private letter to Anthropic and the Pentagon, urging them to resolve their fight.

The Senate leaders are urging Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the CEO of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, to extend their negotiations and work with Congress to find a solution, according to the letter obtained by ABC News.

The Pentagon claims it has no intention of using Anthropic’s AI for cases that involve mass domestic surveillance or autonomous kinetic operations. However, it says Anthropic’s guardrails could jeopardize military operations.

The Pentagon said that if Anthropic does not agree to its demands by 5:00 p.m. ET Friday, they will terminate the partnership with Anthropic and label the company a “supply chain risk” – a designation usually reserved for foreign adversaries.

“The Department has stated that it does not intend to conduct mass surveillance or use autonomous weapons without humans on the loop — positions that we in Congress endorse,” the letter from the Senate leaders reads. “It is clear, however, that the issue of ‘lawful use’ requires additional work by all stakeholders. We must determine whether additional legislative or regulatory language is required, and, if so, what that law and regulation should entail.”

“By Friday, February 27, the DOD could essentially declare war not on a foreign nation but on one of America’s most successful frontier AI companies if it does not bow to its demands,” Adam Conner, the vice president for technology policy at American Progress, wrote in an article on their website.

“This would be an unprecedented and unnecessary peacetime move that sends the signal to other private companies that they must do the Trump administration’s bidding or face existential consequences,” Conner wrote.

In an interview aboard Air Force Two on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance told The Washington Post that there was “no chance” of a drawn-out war in Iran as a result of potential strikes that are being weighed by the White House.

“The idea that we’re going to be in a Middle Eastern war for years with no end in sight — there is no chance that will happen,” Vance told the Post.

Vance’s comments come as the U.S. and Iran held indirect talks on Thursday in Geneva, Switzerland, which concluded without a resolution so far.

Vance added that while he doesn’t know what President Donald Trump will do in Iran, he described the range of options as strikes that would “ensure Iran isn’t going to get a nuclear weapon” or actions that could lead to a diplomatic solution.

The vice president told the Post that he remained a “skeptic of foreign military interventions” and said he believed the president was as well. He added that “we all prefer the diplomatic option,” while conceding, “but it really depends on what the Iranians do and what they say.”

Vance dismissed questions from the Post about his past criticisms of the U.S. involvement in Iraq and if he could have foreseen being part of an administration now flirting with the prospect of regime change.

“Well, I mean, look. Life has all kinds of crazy twists and turns,” Vance said. “But I think Donald Trump is an ‘America First’ president, and he pursues policies that work for the American people.”

“I do think we have to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. I also think that we have to avoid overlearning the lessons of the past. Just because one president screwed up a military conflict doesn’t mean we can never engage in military conflict again. We’ve got to be careful about it, but I think the president is being careful,” he said.

Vance’s comments come ahead of his meeting with Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi and other U.S. officials Friday in Washington, D.C., to discuss Iran, a source familiar with the meeting confirmed to ABC News.

The scheduled meeting follows Thursday’s gathering in Geneva between special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, with Al Busaidi for indirect talks between Iran and the United States.

About two-thirds of Americans who don’t own their own home say they do not think they will be able to afford to buy a home in the foreseeable future, and nearly half of Americans say they have “a lot” or “some” debt, an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted using Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel finds. And more than half of Americans say health care, taking a weeklong vacation or buying a new car is “unaffordable.”

As previously reported, Americans are negative on the economy, even if feelings have tempered slightly. Nearly half say it has gotten worse since President Donald Trump took office for his second term and a third say they are not as well off as they were in January 2025. A slim 53% majority say they have “just enough to maintain” their standard of living. And that uncertainty emerges in their general feelings about affordability and buying a home in the future.

Affordability is a key issue for Trump — and one he is campaigning on heading into the high-stakes midterm elections. This poll was conducted before Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night, where he touted a “roaring economy,” despite little evidence suggesting such strength.

Non-homeowners under 50 years old are more optimistic about buying a home, with 35% saying they think they’ll be able to buy a home in the future. Among those 50 and older, 26% say that they will be able to buy a home someday that they like.

Non-homeowners with incomes of $100,000 or more are more optimistic about their chances of buying a home – 41% say they think they’ll be able to – while fewer than a third of those with incomes under that are optimistic. Majorities across income levels do not think they will be able to afford a home that they would want to live in. 

Republicans are more optimistic than Democrats or independents on future homeownership; 41% of Republicans who are not homeowners say they will be able to buy a home in the foreseeable future, compared to 33% of independents and 27% of Democrats.   

And while 74% of those who rent say they would want to buy a home in the future, that’s higher than the 65% of renters who say they think they will be able to buy a home, meaning there’s a gap between renters who want to buy a home and those who think they can.

Majorities of Americans say a new car (74%), a weeklong vacation (60%) and health care (56%) are “unaffordable” for their households. About half say that going out to dinner is unaffordable (49%) and nearly as many say the same about groceries (45%) and home energy and utilities (45%).

On the other hand, majorities say that gasoline (71%) and their rent or mortgage (60%) is affordable. 

Larger shares of Americans with lower incomes say every item asked about is unaffordable.

Women are more likely than men to say that a new car, a weeklong vacation, going out to dinner, groceries and rent or a mortgage is unaffordable. Americans under 50 are more likely than older Americans to say every item asked about is unaffordable. 

Democrats and independents are more likely than Republicans to say every item measured is unaffordable. Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who say they are not MAGA supporters are more likely to say each item is unaffordable than Republicans who call themselves MAGA supporters. 

Parents are more likely than those who aren’t parents to say groceries, utilities, rent or mortgage, going out to dinner, taking a weeklong vacation and buying a new car are unaffordable. 

Moreover, 46% of Americans overall say they have at least some debt, including credit card balances, auto loans, student loans or medical debt. That includes 15% who say they have “a lot” of debt. 

About half of Americans with household incomes under $100,000 say they have at least some debt (51%), compared with fewer of those with incomes of $100,000 or more (41%).  

Over half of Black (57%) and Hispanic (53%) Americans say they have at least some debt, compared with fewer white (42%) and Asian (36%) Americans.  

A slim majority of Americans, 53%, say they have “just enough to maintain their standard of living,” almost identical to a Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted last year. Another 28% say they are “getting ahead,” up from 25% last year. And 17% say they are “falling behind financially,” down from 20% last year.  

Americans with higher household incomes are more likely to say they’re getting ahead: 4 in 10 of those with incomes of $100,000 or more say they’re getting ahead compared with about 2 in 10 of those with incomes between $50,000 and $100,000 and 1 in 10 of those with incomes lower than that. 

Moreover, men are more likely than women to say they’re getting ahead, as are Americans 50 and older versus those under 50. 

Looking at the midterm elections, voters who say they’re getting ahead are over twice as likely to say they would vote for the Republican candidate for the House of Representatives, 67% to 29%. Voters who have just enough to maintain their standard of living prefer Democrats by a 54% to 37% margin and voters falling behind financially support Democrats by an even wider 60% to 25% margin. 

Methodology – This ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll was conducted via the probability-based Ipsos KnowledgePanel, Feb. 12-17, 2026, among 2,589 U.S. adults and has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. The error margins are larger among partisan subgroup samples and other subgroups. 

See PDF for full results and detailed methodology.

Email ABCNEWS.Polls@abc.com to be added to ABC News’ polling distribution list. 

More ABC News polls can be found at abcnews.com. Media contacts: Jeannie Kedas and Van Scott. 

Previous releases: 

Americans oppose the tactics ICE is using to enforce immigration laws by 2:1 margin 

Majority of Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling tariffs 

Most Americans disapprove of Trump on issues; Americans don’t trust Dems in Congress more to handle problems 

Immigration is Trump’s best and worst issue 

GOP stays competitive in midterms despite Trump’s negative ratings 

Former President Bill Clinton is set to give a closed-door deposition to the House Oversight Committee on Friday as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein in Chappaqua, New York.

The former president’s testimony comes a day after the Republican-led committee questioned former secretary of state and first lady Hillary Clinton over the couple’s dealings with the convicted sex offender.

In her deposition Thursday, Hillary Clinton said she did not know Epstein, could not recall ever encountering him and never visited him on his island or at his home or office.

Hillary Clinton said after her deposition that the committee asked her over and over if she knew Epstein and there were questions that were off subject — about UFOs and the debunked “Pizzagate” conspiracy.

“So if they are going to fulfill their responsibilities to literally investigate the investigations, which is what they originally said was the scope of their work, I think they could have spent the day more productively,” she said.

Neither Bill Clinton nor Hillary Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing and both deny having any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.

No Epstein survivor or associate has ever made a public allegation of wrongdoing or inappropriate behavior by the former president or his wife in connection with his prior relationship with Epstein.

“No one is accusing, at this moment, the Clintons of any wrongdoing,” Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said Thursday morning ahead of Hillary Clinton’s deposition. “They’re going to have due process, but we have a lot of questions, and the purpose of the whole investigation is to try to understand many things about Epstein.”

Bill Clinton’s association with Epstein was first noted publicly in 2002 after reporters learned of the former president’s flight that year on Epstein’s jet for a humanitarian mission to multiple African nations.

Bill Clinton told New York Magazine through a spokesperson at the time that “Jeffrey is both a highly successful financier and a committed philanthropist with a keen sense of global markets and an in-depth knowledge of 21st century science.”

Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s co-conspirator who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex trafficking and other crimes said in a recorded interview last year with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, that it was she, not Epstein, who had a friendship with Bill Clinton, and that she was the one who suggested and organized his trips on Epstein’s aircraft.

 The Clintons were subpoenaed to appear under oath in front of the committee for a deposition in January, but failed to comply, arguing the subpoenas were without legal merit. Rather, they proposed a four-hour transcribed interview instead. 

David Kendall, the Clintons’ lawyer, argued that the couple has no information relevant to the committee’s investigation of the federal government’s handling of investigations into Epstein and Maxwell, and should not be required to appear for in-person testimony.

Kendall contended the Clintons should be permitted to provide the limited information they have to the committee in writing.

Comer had long threatened to hold the Clintons in contempt if they failed to appear before the committee, so when they didn’t, a contempt resolution was drafted and put to a vote.

The Oversight Committee passed the contempt resolution with nine Democrats voting in favor of it, teeing it up for a full House vote. 

At the last minute, just before the resolution was to be voted on in the House, the Clintons agreed to sit for a deposition, postponing further consideration of a contempt vote.

Democrats on the committee said they hope this week’s testimony from the Clintons spark Republican committee members to investigate more of Epstein’s ties to President Donald Trump. 

Trump has repeatedly denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and has said that he cut off contact with his former friend more than 20 years ago.

While the Clintons have agreed to speak with the committee behind closed doors, they have still pushed for public hearings as part of the committee’s investigation. 

“I will not sit idly as they use me as a prop in a closed-door kangaroo court by a Republican Party running scared,” Bill Clinton wrote in a lengthy post on X. “If they want answers, let’s stop the games & do this the right way: in a public hearing, where the American people can see for themselves what this is really about.”

The Department of Defense mistakenly shot down a Customs and Border Protection drone over El Paso, according to a statement from House representatives and a congressional aide.

Congress was briefed on the incident on Thursday, a source confirmed to ABC News.

The Federal Aviation Administration has expanded its temporary flight restrictions over the Fort Hancock airspace in Texas, about 50 miles to the southeast of El Paso, which prohibits all flight operations there through June 24, due to “security” reasons. 

The location of the airspace restriction does not impact commercial flights, according to the FAA.

Ranking members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure released a statement on the incident, saying, “Our heads are exploding over the news that DoD reportedly shot down a Customs and Border Protection drone using a high risk counter-unmanned aircraft system.”

The statement, from Rick Larsen, D-Wash., André Carson, D-Ind. and Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss., called out the White House directly.

“We said MONTHS ago that the White House’s decision to sidestep a bipartisan, tri-committee bill to appropriately train C-UAS operators and address the lack of coordination between the Pentagon, DHS and the FAA was a short-sighted idea. Now, we’re seeing the result of its incompetence,” the members said.

U.S. Northern Command declined to comment, and the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment. 

The incident comes after the FAA’s abrupt shutdown of airspace over El Paso earlier this month.

Sources with direct knowledge told ABC News at the time that it came days after a laser was used by the Department of Homeland Security to shoot down an object in the vicinity of Fort Bliss. One of the sources said the object was a balloon.

The FAA imposed a surprise 10-day shutdown of airspace within a 10-mile radius of El Paso, halting all arrivals and departures at its airport for what it initially described only as “special security reasons.”

Within hours, the FAA rescinded the order. The Trump administration said the closing of airspace was related to the military neutralizing cartel drones, not a balloon.

Top Democrats on Thursday accused Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Justice Department of a “cover-up” over how they have handled the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

“We’re here today to put a shot across the bow of the Department of Justice and the Trump administration that we are going to reveal this massive cover-up,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said at a news conference. “We will not rest. It’s an all-out oversight effort, we’re going to pull on every thread. We’re going to chase every lead. We’ll talk with whistleblowers.”

Outside a House Oversight Committee deposition of former secretary of state and first lady Hillary Clinton related to Epstein on Thursday, Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, also accused the Justice Department of a cover-up.

“At this very moment, the Department of Justice continues to lead a White House cover-up, and we are going to be demanding over the next few days that the remaining files that have not been released get released to the public,” Garcia said.

Garcia said that includes the recent discovery that the DOJ appears to have withheld some which Garcia said include accusations against Trump.

“It is unconscionable, it is illegal, and Pam Bondi and the president need to answer where those files are,” he said.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment on the Democrats’ allegations.  But in a statement posted on X on Wednesday, it vowed to publish any documents if they are “found to have been improperly tagged in the review process.”

“Several individuals and news outlets have recently flagged files related to documents produced to Ghislaine Maxwell in discovery of her criminal case that they claim appear to be missing,” the DOJ account said. “As with all documents that have been flagged by the public, the Department is currently reviewing files within that category of the production. Should any document be found to have been improperly tagged in the review process and is responsive to the Act, the Department will of course publish it, consistent with the law.” 

Schumer and Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, also said that they sent a letter to the Justice Department and the FBI requesting that they preserve records related to the management of the Epstein files over the course of the Trump administration.

The Democrats accused the Trump administration of “mishandling the files for a year” and said that after Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the White House broke the law in producing the vast majority of files after the deadline.

They said it also broke the law by violating the legislation’s protection for victims by publishing some records without redacting personally identifiable information and including nude photos where names and faces could be identified.

Blanche and Bondi wrote to Congress last month that more than 500 attorneys and others had been involved in reviewing the documents. In a Jan. 30 statement, the DOJ said, “The Department coordinated closely with victims and their lawyers to ensure that the production of documents includes necessary redactions. We want to immediately correct any redaction errors that our team may have made; so, the Department has established an email inbox for victims to reach us directly to correct redaction concerns when appropriate.”

Trump has consistently denied allegations of any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein or any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.

“It’s clear that Donald Trump and his Republican enablers are executing a cover-up and conceal strategy. Heads are rolling at the highest levels in the United Kingdom. Will heads roll in the United States?” Durbin said.

“As I told General Bondi during last year’s Judiciary Committee oversight hearing, quote, ‘Eventually, you’re going to have to answer for your conduct in this. You won’t do it today but eventually you will,'” Durbin said.

At least one American citizen was killed and another injured in a deadly gun battle between Cuban border guards and a group of individuals aboard a U.S.-registered boat that occurred off the coast of the Caribbean island nation, two U.S. State Department officials and a White House official told ABC News on Thursday.

The U.S. officials also confirmed that one of the individuals on the boat was holding a K-1 visa, which allows foreigners to enter the U.S. to marry an American citizen. 

Four people aboard the boat were killed and six others on the vessel were injured in the “confrontation” on Wednesday, about one nautical mile northeast of the El Pino channel, in Cayo Falcones in the Villa Clara province on Cuba’s north coast, the Cuban Ministry of Interior said.

Those on board the U.S-registered speedboat, which had been reported stolen in Florida, allegedly opened fire on Cuban border guard troops as they approached the boat in an attempt to identify it, the Cuban ministry said Wednesday.

In the aftermath of the gunfight, the ministry said assault rifles, handguns, Molotov cocktails, bulletproof vests, telescopic sights and camouflage uniforms were seized from the speedboat.

The six people who survived the incident were detained, the ministry said, while another man who was “a citizen sent from the United States to facilitate the reception of the armed infiltration” was arrested.

The Cuban ministry further said most of those aboard the boat “have a known history of criminal and violent activity.”

“We have stated this on repeated occasions and we reaffirm it today: Cuba will defend itself with determination and firmness against any terrorist and mercenary aggression that seeks to affect its sovereignty and national stability,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez said in a statement Thursday morning.

In a statement on Wednesday night, the Cuban Ministry of Interior said the 10 people aboard the speedboat were “Cuban residents of the United States,” who were allegedly armed with weapons and “intended to carry out an infiltration for terrorist purposes.”

Despite claims to the contrary from Washington, Cuban authorities are still unsure whether the U.S. government played any part in the operation and were reluctant to grant American officials access to the detainees, a Cuban government official said Thursday.

The official further said that the Cuban government is not concerned with the citizenship or immigration status of the alleged attackers because, in the eyes of the regime, they are considered Cuban Americans because they have been residing in the United States.

The speedboat allegedly involved in the attack was registered to a 65-year-old man who was born in Cuba but is living in Miami, according to multiple law enforcement officials. FBI agents spoke with the boat’s owner and preliminary information indicated that he reported the boat stolen from a dock at a Florida Keys marina and is not considered a suspect, according to a report from the Monroe County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office.

Some of the other individuals involved in the incident are believed to be lawful permanent residents of the United States, U.S. officials said, although it’s not immediately clear how many. 

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio cautioned that information about the incident so far has come from Cuban authorities.

“The majority of the information we still possess is what Cuban authorities are providing both the public and the U.S. government,” Rubio told reporters while speaking from the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts on Wednesday during a visit unrelated to the attack. “As we gather more information, then we’ll be prepared to respond accordingly.”

The Kremlin appears to be backing the Cuban government a day after the gunfight.

“Cuban border guards did what they had to do in this situation,” Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, told reporters on Thursday morning, according to the Russian state news outlet RIA Novosti.

“As for security around the island, it is important that everyone remain restrained and refrain from any provocative actions,” Peskov added.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said Wednesday that he has directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution to launch an investigation and work with federal authorities to get to the bottom of what happened.

“The Cuban government cannot be trusted,” Uthmeier said.

The incident comes at a delicate time in U.S.-Cuba diplomatic relations. Since last month’s capture and arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on federal drug trafficking charges during a large-scale strike by the U.S. military on Maduro’s compound, the Trump administration has cut off Cuba’s primary source of oil, precipitating an energy and economic crisis there.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced Wednesday that it would authorize companies seeking licenses to resell Venezuelan oil to Cuba’s private sector.

Trump announced a plan in late January to impose additional tariffs on other countries that provide oil to Cuba, declaring a national security emergency regarding the island nation.

In an executive order, Trump said the “policies, practices, and actions of the Government of Cuba constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security and foreign policy. 

“[T]he government of Cuba has taken extraordinary actions that harm and threaten the United States,” Trump’s order further stated, noting what it said were alliances with Russia, China, Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah.

ABC News’ Shannon Kingston contributed to this report.

A Columbia University student who was detained by Department of Homeland Security agents Thursday morning after the school claimed agents allegedly made “misrepresentations” to enter a dorm will be released, according to the mayor.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Thursday afternoon that President Donald Trump informed him that the student, Elaina Aghayev, would be “released immediately” after the mayor spoke with the president.

Claire Shipman, the school’s acting president, sent a letter to the school community informing them that the DHS agents entered an unspecified dorm on the campus around 6:30 a.m. and detained the student.

“Our understanding at this time is that the federal agents made misrepresentations to gain entry to the building to search for a ‘missing person.’ We are working to gather more details,” she said.

A statement from a DHS official identified Aghayeva as an Azerbajani native, and alleged her “student visa was terminated in 2016 under the Obama administration for failing to attend classes.”

“The building manager and her roommate let officers into the apartment. She has no pending appeals or applications with DHS,” the statement further said.

The statement did not address the allegations that DHS agents made misrepresentations to gain entry to the building.

Mamdani, who met with Trump at the White House Thursday, posted a statement on social media in the afternoon where he said he spoke with the president about the incident.

“In our meeting earlier, I shared my concerns about Columbia student Elaina Aghayeva, who was detained by ICE this morning. He has just informed me that she will be released imminently,” he said.

Protests took place on the school’s campus on Thursday following the news of the student’s detention but there were no reported incidents or arrests.

The school was “working to reach the family, and providing legal support,” the Columbia letter further said.

“It is important to reiterate that all law enforcement agents must have a judicial warrant or judicial subpoena to access non-public areas of the University, including housing, classrooms, and areas requiring CUID swipe access,” the letter said.

“If law enforcement agents seek entry to non-public areas of the University, ask the agents to wait to enter any non-public areas until contacting Public Safety,” Shipman wrote. “Public Safety will contact the Office of the General Counsel to coordinate the University’s response. Do not allow them to enter or accept service of a warrant or subpoena.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul released a statement condemning the federal agents’ alleged actions.

“Let’s be clear about what happened: ICE agents didn’t have the proper warrant, so they lied to gain access to a student’s private residence,” she said.

U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler echoed the governor’s statement.

“Law enforcement agents should not, under no circumstance, misrepresent their identity to gain entrance into a residence. These actions do not keep us safe, they only sow distrust and fear into our community. ICE is terrorizing our neighbors and ripping students from their homes,” Nadler said in a statement, in part. “We are doing everything in our power to help bring the student home.”

Thursday’s incident is not the first encounter between the Trump administration and Columbia.

Last year, pro-Palestinian activist and Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil was arrested and held for 104 days on immigration charges.

U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz issued an order on June 20 granting Khalil’s release on bail after determining that he presented neither a danger nor a flight risk and that extraordinary circumstances justified his temporary release while his habeas case proceeded.

The federal government has been appealing its case against Kahlil, a green card holder.

Columbia also reached a $200 million agreement with the Trump administration last July, after it threatened to remove federal funding over what it called Columbia’s “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”