Related videos:
Phil Ehr, retired U.S. Navy commander and Republican candidate for Congress in Florida's 28th District, rejected any negotiations between Washington and Havana this Friday with a straightforward statement: "Negotiating with communist Cuba is not the way to free the Cuban people. The regime must be suffocated to liberate the people."
The message was posted on X in response to Ricardo Herrero, executive director of the Cuba Study Group, who shared an article from Responsible Statecraft titled "Despite Trump's Threats, an Agreement Between the United States and Cuba is Taking Shape."
Ehr's statements come at a time of heightened diplomatic tension: Washington issued an ultimatum expiring this Friday, demanding the release of high-profile political prisoners such as Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Osorbo as a condition to move forward in the negotiations.
The Cuban regime rejected the ultimatum. Díaz-Canel described the contacts with the U.S. as very preliminary and denied that political prisoners are on the table, conditioning any progress on reciprocal easing of the embargo.
In a second tweet, Ehr expanded his criticism beyond Cuba: "The betrayal continues. Delcy Rodríguez has more power in Venezuela than Trump. Venezuelans need from Carlos Giménez the same energy he brings to Cuba."
The reference to Giménez is not accidental. Ehr is specifically seeking a candidacy for Congress in Florida, and has criticized Giménez repeatedly for what he considers an insufficient stance towards the Cuban regime.
The journey of Ehr with Cuba is long. His first mission in the Navy was during the Mariel Boatlift of 1980, participating in the rescue of Cuban exiles.
In March 2026, he organized a protest at Miami International Airport against a convoy from the organization CodePink heading to Cuba, claiming that Transportation Security Administration agents were working unpaid while processing shipments that, according to him, the regime seizes. Only he and another former military officer showed up.
The debate between the hardliners of the exile community and ongoing diplomatic contacts reflects a rift within the republican camp itself.
On April 10, a U.S. delegation traveled secretly to Havana for the first high-level direct meetings in a decade.
The State Department confirmed that it is holding high-level conversations, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio involved in contacts with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, grandson of Raúl Castro.
Cuba released more than 2,000 prisoners in a prior pardon, but excluded dissidents, labeling them as guilty of "crimes against authority," which Washington deemed insufficient.
Ehr's stance aligns with the maximum pressure strategy that Trump has implemented since January 2026, although it goes further by rejecting any form of negotiation.
A senior official in the Trump administration summarized the official position with one sentence: "The U.S. government's stance is that the regime has to go."
Filed under: