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Retired Lieutenant Colonel Alex Vindman, Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate from Florida, posted a message on his X profile this Thursday demanding "real change" for Cuba and warning that he will not settle for cosmetic solutions for the Havana regime.
In his post, accompanied by a photograph of him in front of a tower decorated with the Cuban flag, Vindman wrote: "We have the opportunity to do something real for the Cuban-American community, not just to paint over the Castro regime with a light coat of paint. I will always stand with the Cuban people and their fight for real change and true freedom."
His message comes at a time of intense rhetorical and diplomatic activity by the Trump administration towards the island.
In recent weeks, the president declared that Cuba is a "very weakened nation right now" and that "Cuba is going to fall quite soon," while secret negotiations between Washington and Havana are being reported with Marco Rubio as the intermediary.
The Chargé d'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Cuba, Mike Hammer, stated before the Cuban American Bar Association in Miami: "Change is coming in 2026. The dictatorship will come to an end."
With his statement, Vindman seems to question the true depth of the Republican administration's plans for Cuba and seeks to differentiate himself in front of the influential Cuban-American community in Florida, estimated to be over 1.6 million people and concentrated in Miami-Dade and Broward, which has historically aligned with the Republican Party.
Vindman announced his candidacy last January to compete for the seat left vacant by Rubio, who resigned in January 2025 to become Secretary of State.
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