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The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, stated this Thursday in an exclusive interview with journalist Tom Yamas from NBC that the situation in Cuba is “unacceptable” and poses a direct threat to his country, while accusing the regime of rejecting a $100 million humanitarian aid offer intended for the Cuban people.
The statements were shared by Noticias Telemundo and were made in Spanish while Rubio was traveling to China aboard Air Force One, representing another direct expression from the Secretary of State regarding the Cuban crisis.
"What is happening in Cuba is unacceptable. And having a failed state just 90 miles off our coast is a threat to the United States. It is a state that is not functioning worse than ever, with a regime that not only does not allow open political activity but is also economically destroying the lives of Cubans," Rubio stated.
The Secretary of State emphasized that the offer of aid exists and is available, but the regime is deliberately blocking it: "We are offering the Cuban people 100 million dollars, 100 million dollars, in humanitarian aid, and the regime is rejecting it."
Rubio also sent a direct message to the Cubans: "It is important for the Cuban people to know that there is currently food, medicine, and humanitarian aid available exceeding 100 million dollars from the U.S. regime that the regime is not allowing to be distributed within the island."
Additionally, Telemundo reported that Rubio predicted a political change in Cuba within less than a year, although he did not specify the details of that prediction in the released excerpt.
In parallel, in an interview with Fox News, also recorded this Thursday, Rubio was even more emphatic about the economic outlook of the island: "You cannot change Cuba's economic trajectory while the people currently in power remain in control," and he described the military conglomerate GAESA as a company that accumulates 16 billion dollars while "people are literally eating garbage from the streets."
The State Department formalized the offer of 100 million on Wednesday through an official statement, specifying that the aid would be channeled through the Catholic Church and independent non-governmental organizations to avoid the mediation of the Cuban government.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla had described the offer as a "fable" and a "lie" on Tuesday, denying having received any formal proposal.
However, this same Thursday —coinciding with the announcement of the total depletion of diesel and fuel oil reserves and a record electricity deficit of 2,113 MW— Rodríguez Parrilla published a notable turn on X: "We are willing to listen to the characteristics of the offer and how it would materialize," although he conditioned his openness on the proposal being "free of political maneuvering."
The statement from the Department of State placed the responsibility in the hands of the regime: "The decision lies with the Cuban regime to accept our offer of assistance or deny critical life-saving help and, ultimately, to hold itself accountable to the Cuban people for standing in the way of that critical assistance."
Cuba is experiencing its worst energy crisis in decades, with power outages lasting up to 22 hours a day in Havana, seven total collapses of the National Electric System in 18 months, and GDP contraction projections of between 6.5% and 15% for 2026, in a context of more than 240 sanctions accumulated by the Trump administration since January of that year.
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