Secretary of State Marco Rubio outlined the Trump administration's position on Cuba this Thursday with a phrase that summarizes its policy: "The future of Cuba belongs to the Cuban people, but the threat to national security is something we will focus on 100%, because that's what it means for America."
The statements come a day after May 20, Cuba's Independence Day, when Rubio released a video in Spanish addressed to the Cuban people — the first time he did so as Secretary of State — and on which the Department of Justice revealed the formal charges against Raúl Castro related to the downing of Brothers to the Rescue planes in 1996.
In the exchange from Miami broadcasted by BBC News, Rubio described Cuba as a "failed state" and was direct: "Its economic system does not work. It is broken. And you cannot fix it with the current political system in place. They simply do not understand how to do it."
The Secretary of State compared Cuba to its immediate neighbors—Bahamas, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Florida—where citizens can own businesses, work independently, and vote. "If that is possible around Cuba, why is it not possible within Cuba?" he asked.
Rubio warned that the regime has been using the same tactic for decades: "They have been used to just buying time and waiting for us. They won't be able to wait for us or buy time. We are very serious. We are very focused."
Regarding the possibility of a negotiated agreement, Rubio was skeptical but left the door open. President Trump’s preference is always for a peaceful agreement, but he acknowledged that the probability "is not high" given the profile of the current interlocutors of the regime. "If they have a change of heart, we're here," he said.
Rubio rejected that his policy is about "nation-building" and framed it as a matter of direct national security. "Cuba is 90 miles from our shores. If there is a systemic collapse in that country, which is where it is heading, we will be impacted by the migration crisis, by any violence and instability that occurs there."
The Secretary of State directly pointed to GAESA, the military-business conglomerate that controls approximately 70% of the Cuban economy: "They have a private military company called GAESA that has 18 billion dollars in assets, and not a cent of that goes to the state budget. Not a cent of that is going to help the people of Cuba. Not a single cent."
Rubio explained that Cuba has experienced massive power outages even when it was receiving free Venezuelan oil, because the money was diverted and never invested in energy infrastructure. Cuba is going through its worst electrical crisis in decades, with deficits of up to 2,113 MW recorded in May 2026.
Regarding the formal accusation against Raúl Castro, Rubio was emphatic in front of the media: "Raúl Castro openly admits and boasts of having given the order to shoot down civilian planes." When asked how he plans to bring him to U.S. justice, he responded: "I am not going to discuss how we will bring him here. If there is an announcement, we will let you know afterward, not before."
The formal accusation presented on May 20 at the Freedom Tower in Miami includes Raúl Castro and five Cuban military officials for the shooting down of the Brothers to the Rescue aircraft on February 24, 1996, in which four Cuban-Americans were killed: Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Costa, Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales. The charges may carry the death penalty or life imprisonment.
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