The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, stated this Friday that the only place where Cubans can succeed is by leaving the country, and he demanded a change in regime, system, and economic model in Cuba as the only way toward a better future for the island.
"You see Cubans going all over the world and finding success, except in Cuba," Rubio stated, adding that "that has to change."
To achieve this, "it is necessary to change the people in charge, the system that governs the country, and the economic model that is being followed," he stated.
Rubio was emphatic in stating that this is the only path forward if Cuba wants a better future, and he left the possibility of concrete progress open: "We have expressed this clearly and repeatedly for many years, and perhaps now there is an opportunity to do so. We'll see."
The statements come amid a negotiation process between Washington and Havana that has intensified in recent weeks.
President Donald Trump confirmed the discussions by stating that Cuba is in talks with Marco Rubio and that we will do something very soon, warning: "There will be an agreement, or we will do what we have to do."
Rubio himself dismissed any version that does not come from official sources of the administration on Friday: "Any report about Cuba that does not come from me or the president is a lie, because we are the only ones working on this".
The non-negotiables of the dictatorship
The Cuban regime, for its part, has acknowledged the existence of dialogues with Washington, but the ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel insists that his position "is not negotiable," which directly conflicts with Trump's stance, who has conditioned any agreement on Díaz-Canel's departure from power.
Rubio's words resonate with particular strength given his background: he is the son of Cuban immigrants who arrived in the United States in 1956, before the Revolution, and embodies the phenomenon he describes: the Cuban who succeeds far from the island.
His statements come just two days after the massive Free Cuba Rally held last Wednesday in Hialeah, Florida, where thousands of Cuban Americans cheered him on and state Senator Ileana García publicly announced her possible presidential candidacy for 2028 with the chant "Marquito Rubio for president 2028."
The backdrop of these statements is the worst economic crisis Cuba has faced in decades.
The island suffers from blackouts lasting up to 20-25 continuous hours, extreme shortages of food, medicine, and fuel, along with a massive emigration that has drastically reduced its population.
The capture of Nicolás Maduro in January of this year cut the supply of between 25,000 and 30,000 barrels of Venezuelan oil per day, further exacerbating the energy collapse.
The Economist Intelligence Unit projects a contraction of the Cuban GDP of 7.2% in 2026, which would accumulate a decline of 23% since 2019, while 80% of Cubans consider the current crisis worse than the Special Period of the 1990s.
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