Rubio urges Cubans to join CIA partnership as Trump threatens action on Cuba

Rubio's appeal to Cubans

Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on X on Friday, 23 October, that for those who want positive change in Cuba, now is the time. He urged them to achieve it through a discreet partnership with the CIA, pointing to broken promises, corruption and the privileged lives of a few. Rubio, whose parents left Cuba before the socialist revolution, is himself of Cuban origin. The CIA then posted a Spanish-language video on X with instructions for Cubans who believe they hold information of interest. Those instructions advised against using devices or internet connections linked to a person's identity or workplace, and against keeping software on the device used to contact the agency. Another recommendation was to visit an official US facility in person.

Trump's threat from Fort Myers

At a campaign rally in Fort Myers, Florida, on Friday, 23 October, ahead of the midterm elections, Donald Trump said US ships returning from Iran would sail past Cuba. He said one of them would be stopped about 45 metres off the coast, while another version of his remarks gives the distance as 50 yards. He added that those aboard would raise their hands, before sending Marco Rubio to finish the deal. Trump had said in March that Cuba was next after the war with Iran. He has not ruled out using force to bring about a change of regime, though he has repeatedly said it would not be necessary. In January he announced an oil blockade of Cuba after a US military operation in Venezuela overthrew and removed Nicolás Maduro, saying the island would receive no more oil or money.

Havana's response

Cuba's vice foreign minister, Carlos Fernández de Cossío, answered on X with a mocking message about US desperation.

Now the United States is resorting to open public recruitment for the CIA.

He later wrote a longer Facebook post calling the CIA an organization of state terrorism with a dirty record. He recalled that a US Senate committee in the 1970s investigated CIA abuses, including assassinations, kidnappings, torture and coups. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez rejected the threats on social media.

Cuba is not a threat, the blockade is.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel accused Washington of ambitions of domination over the island.

The US government makes clear that it does not give up its ambitions of domination over Cuba.

He said Cubans have been truly independent since 1 January 1959.

The Raúl Castro warrant

On Monday, 19 October, US authorities issued an arrest warrant for former Cuban leader Raúl Castro for conspiracy to commit murder. The warrant holds him responsible for the shootdown of two civilian planes operated by the Cuban exile group Hermanos al Rescate over international waters in 1996. Three Americans and one US resident died in that incident. Rubio's post and Trump's rally came four days later, on Friday, 23 October. Other reporting says secret talks with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, a grandson of Raúl Castro, did not conclude, partly because of pressure from exiles and Florida Republican lawmakers.

Pressure on the island

Cuba is struggling with power outages and supply shortages, according to Deutsche Welle, which reports that Washington applies a de facto energy blockade on the island of 9.4 million people. The US is also threatening sanctions against countries that supply fuel to Cuba. Trump and other senior officials have said for months that military intervention is possible. Washington has increased economic, political and legal pressure on the island. A Cuban announcement of economic reforms also failed to convince Washington, according to the same reporting. Díaz-Canel has framed the pressure as a question of sovereignty.