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The Cuban-American Republican congresswoman María Elvira Salazar supported the statements made on Wednesday by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, asserting that the Cuban regime should be the next to fall because it "has never been weaker and can no longer contain the will of its people."
Salazar published her message on X, in direct response to Leavitt, who that same day stated from the podium of the White House that the Cuban regime is destined to fall, that the country "is very weak" economically and financially, and that the Cuban people are fed up with their government.
The Congresswoman from Florida went further and outlined a regional perspective: "The tide is changing across the Western Hemisphere, and Cuba is next."
Salazar also appealed to history to underscore the urgency of the moment: "After 67 years of repression, the Cuban people deserve to reclaim their country."
He closed his message with three words that encapsulate the stance of the most active Cuban-American lawmakers in Washington: "Freedom is coming."
Salazar's statements are part of a series of escalating signals from the Trump administration.
On March 27, the president stated in Miami that "Cuba is next," and three days later, from Air Force One, he predicted that "the regime will fail soon." Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also forecasted "new developments quite soon" regarding the Island.
Leavitt clarified on Wednesday that Trump's comments do not suggest military action, but rather a political and economic collapse of the regime, and confirmed that discussions with Cuba are ongoing at the highest levels of government, although he did not provide specific details.
From Havana, Deputy Foreign Minister Josefina Vidal acknowledged to the AFP agency that there are contacts with Washington, but she described them as a "very initial phase, without formal negotiations."
The context surrounding these statements is one of an unprecedented crisis on the Island. Following Nicolás Maduro's fall in Venezuela on January 3, Cuba lost the supply of subsidized Venezuelan oil, which represented two-thirds of its energy imports, resulting in blackouts of up to 30 hours a day.
The Cuban economy has experienced a contraction of 23% of GDP since 2019, with an additional projected decline of 7.2% for this year according to The Economist Intelligence Unit.
Since January, the Trump administration has imposed more than 240 new sanctions on Cuba and signed Executive Order 14380, which declares the regime an extraordinary threat and imposes tariffs on countries that supply it with oil.
Protests on the island have escalated in parallel: in January 2026 alone, 953 demonstrations and expressions of discontent were recorded. The regime responded with selective repression and released over 2,000 prisoners on April 3, a measure that Salazar rejected as propaganda for excluding political prisoners.
Salazar has been warning about the end of the regime for months. On February 25, she stated that it is in its "final phase"; on March 13, she demanded the release of all political prisoners and directly told the dictatorship: "Your time is up".
On February 20, he stated that "the regime has nothing more to offer than repression."
Díaz-Canel, for his part, threatened with a "people's war" in response to any U.S. military action, which analysts interpret as an attempt at deterrence amid increasing pressure from Washington.
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