NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Cuban leaders should be concerned after the U.S. military operation in Venezuela and the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday, as President Donald Trump signaled that his administration could shift its focus to the Caribbean island.

Cuba has long maintained a presence in Venezuela, with intelligence agents and security personnel embedded amid close relations between Havana and Caracas.

Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, said Venezuela’s spy agency was "basically full of Cubans" as was Maduro’s security detail.

MADURO GAVE STATE TV ADDRESS AS US STRIKES IN VENEZUELA BEGAN: REPORT

Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and Secretary of State Marco Rubio  (Fox News)

"One of the biggest problems Venezuelans have is they have to declare independence from Cuba," he said during a news conference in which officials revealed details of the military operation. "They tried to basically colonize it from a security standpoint."

He added that the communist island was "a disaster. It’s run by incompetent, senile men — and in some cases, not senile, but incompetent nonetheless."

The secretary has repeatedly denounced Cuba and its leadership as a dictatorship and a failed state.

"If I lived in Havana, and I was in the government, I’d be concerned — at least a little bit," Rubio said.

Trump said Cuba was something his administration would "end up talking about because Cuba is a failing nation right now — a very badly failing nation.

US CAPTURE OF MADURO CHAMPIONED, CONDEMNED ACROSS WORLD STAGE AFTER SURGICAL VENEZUELA STRIKES

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago Saturday in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP)

"And we want to help the people," he added. "It’s very similar in the sense that we want to help the people in Cuba, but we also want to help the people who were forced out of Cuba and are living in this country."

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken by and taken aboard the USS Iwo Jima. They were expected to be transported to the U.S. to face federal charges.