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U.S. politics made a comeback this weekend on the stage of Saturday Night Live, delivering a sharp satire directed at President Donald Trump's cabinet, focusing on two particularly sensitive issues for Cubans both on the island and abroad: Venezuela and stricter immigration policies implemented by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
According to a report from The Washington Post, the first episode of SNL in 2026 opened with a sketch in which comedian James Austin Johnson, portraying Trump, reviewed what he referred to as the “almost legal” actions taken by his administration during the winter holidays.
From a fake office in the White House, the character introduced his team as a gallery of "weird bugs, monsters, and nightmares," in one of the most aggressive openings of the season.
One of the most talked-about moments came when Johnson, the "Trump" of his party, boasted about the overthrow of Nicolás Maduro, humorously describing it as a "reverse Santa Claus," coming down the chimney to take him away in a bag.
The scene immediately resonated with a reality that the Cuban audience is well acquainted with: Venezuela's influence in regional politics and its direct impact on Cuba.
The sketch also included a parody of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, played by Cuban-American Marcello Hernández. When the character attempted to address "the Cuban people" in Spanish, he was abruptly interrupted by Trump with a line that elicited laughter but also left an uncomfortable implication regarding the political use of the Cuban community in the U.S.: “Not here. I didn’t like that at all.”
The mockery continued with the appearance of the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, portrayed as a caricature of extreme toughness. In a sarcastic tone, the character posed grotesque questions to recruit ICE agents, a scene that resonated strongly with migrants living in constant fear of raids, detentions, and deportations.
The closing was handled by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, played by Colin Jost, who boasted about the military operation in Venezuela amid metal music and tasteless jokes, before delivering an ironic warning to other countries. The audience's laughter contrasted sharply with the harshness of the message: war, repression, and migration turned into a spectacle.
Beyond humor, the episode highlighted how political decisions that directly impact the lives of millions of people—migrants, exiles, separated families—can be portrayed through satire without losing their symbolic weight.
As highlighted by The Washington Post, Saturday Night Live once again used humor to reflect real tensions. And this time, Venezuela and ICE were at the center of a script that, though comedic, struck very sensitive chords for the Cuban diaspora.
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