Trump threatens to send ships off the coast of Cuba and Rubio calls on Cubans to ally themselves with the CIA
"To those who seek to create positive change in Cuba - now is the time. The disappointment of failed promises, corruption, and the privileged lives of only a few; seize this opportunity to create the change you desire through a discrete partnership with the CIA," the secretary of state said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a message on Friday that is unusual for a U.S. chief diplomat, inviting Cubans seeking political change on the island to collaborate discreetly with the CIA.
The message came just minutes after President Donald Trump, at a rally in South Florida, once again suggested military intervention in Cuba once the war with Iran ends.
"To those who seek to create positive change in Cuba - now is the time. The disappointment of failed promises, corruption, and the privileged lives of only a few; seize this opportunity to create the change you desire through a discrete partnership with the CIA," Rubio wrote, who is Cuban-American and has opposed the Castro regime since the beginning of his political career.
Shortly before that, Trump had described to his followers how he envisions the outcome with the Cuban regime.
"We’re going to come back from Iran. Those beautiful ships will pass Cuba. We’ll have one of them stop about 50 yards off the coast. They’ll raise up their hands, and then we’re going to send Marco Rubio in to finish up the deal," Trump said before the audience erupted in applause.
This is not the first time the White House has flirted with the idea of regime change in Cuba, which has been mired in communism, poverty, and repression for more than sixty years. In May, Trump and Rubio raised the possibility of military action against the island, a threat that gained traction after the administration announced criminal charges against former dictator Raúl Castro. In his speech before the UN General Assembly last month, Trump asserted that Rubio was engaged in negotiations with Havana and that he would not allow a safe haven for foreign adversaries on the doorstep of the United States.
His tone, however, has shifted several times in just a few weeks and over the past few months, especially after the U.S. ousted former dictator Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, who is now facing trial for narco-terrorism in New York alongside his wife, who was also captured by U.S. forces on January 3.
Days after that speech, the president expressed confidence in a negotiated solution. "I don't think we'll need the military. Cuba is failing very badly," he said at the time. According to the AP, Rubio and other senior officials have even met with Cuban representatives in recent months to explore ways to improve relations.
Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants and one of the harshest critics of the Castro regime in Washington, has expressed his doubts about that approach. In September, in his latest substantive public statements on the island, he maintained that the regime has no way out.
"The truth is Cuba has already fallen," he said, referring to a dysfunctional economy and a leadership that, according to him, continues to preach a revolution that has been dead for two decades.
The call to collaborate with the CIA marks another step in the push for regime change and also comes at a key electoral moment, with the midterms just around the corner, and Florida once again up for grabs and representing a key state for Republicans.
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