Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Cuba poses a nationwide safety menace to the US.
Printed On 22 Might 2026
United States President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have issued new threats of army motion towards Cuba.
Rubio advised reporters late on Thursday that Cuba has been a nationwide safety menace for years due to its ties to US adversaries Russia and China, whereas Trump mentioned he’s more likely to be the president to lastly take motion.
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The Trump administration, with Cuban-American Rubio on the forefront, has been elevating the stress on the communist-led island in an obvious bid to institute “regime change,” together with a gasoline blockade that has put the Cuban economic system on the sting of collapse.
The push has accelerated in current days, with the US indicting Cuba’s former President Raul Castro and gathering army forces within the Caribbean.
Rejecting solutions of “nation constructing,” Rubio advised reporters the difficulty is certainly one of “nationwide safety”. He added that whereas a negotiated settlement is the US “choice”, the trail of diplomacy with Cuba is “not excessive”.
“Their financial system doesn’t work. It’s damaged, and you’ll’t repair it with the present political system that’s in place,” Rubio mentioned.
Through the years, Cuba has gotten used to “shopping for time and ready us out,” Rubio mentioned. “They’re not going to have the ability to wait us out or purchase time. We’re very critical, we’re very targeted.”
Individually, President Donald Trump advised reporters that US presidents have thought of intervening in Cuba for many years, however that it appears like he might be “the one which does it”, including that he could be “joyful” to take action.
In response, Cuban International Minister Bruno Rodriguez lambasted Rubio for falsely labelling Cuba a menace.
“The US secretary of state lies as soon as once more to instigate a army aggression that will provoke the shedding of Cuban and American blood,” Rodriguez mentioned.
Raised pressure
Since returning to workplace, Trump has slapped Cuba with quite a few sanctions, implemented a fuel blockade and overseen a army build-up within the area.
The renewed threats on Thursday got here amid rising tensions between the nations.
The US indicted Cuba’s former President Raul Castro on Wednesday, in reference to the 1996 downing of a airplane.
On Thursday, Adys Lastres Morera – sister of a high-ranking government of the Grupo de Administracion Empresarial SA (GAESA) conglomerate, which is managed by Cuba’s army and controls giant swaths of the economic system – was arrested.
Extra sanctions had been imposed on the Cuban authorities prior to now week. The US army introduced that a number of navy ships, together with an plane service, had arrived within the Caribbean on Wednesday to participate in maritime workouts with companions in Latin America.
Rubio has famous that Cuba had earlier tentatively accepted a proposal of $100m in support in return for reforms. However he mentioned it was unclear if the US would settle for Cuba’s phrases, as Washington insists on circumventing the military-backed conglomerate GAESA.
Analysts warning that Trump and Rubio are eyeing an analogous plan of action in Cuba to the regime change manufactured in Venezuela. Left-wing President Nicolas Maduro and his spouse had been kidnapped in a army operation in January. They had been taken to the US, the place Maduro was charged with “narcoterrorism”.
Rubio insists that Cuba poses a critical nationwide safety menace to the US due to its safety and intelligence ties with China and Russia.
Each nations have criticised the US stress on the island.
China mentioned on Friday it “firmly helps” Cuba and urged the US to de-escalate tensions and “cease threatening drive”.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov mentioned: “We imagine that by no means ought to such strategies – which border on violence – be used towards both former or present heads of state.”
