The journalist Juana Carrasco Martín, columnist for the official newspaper Juventud Rebelde, published an article last Sunday in which she called the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio "lying" and rejected his statements about the collapse of the Cuban regime, marking the most direct response from the official press to Washington's escalating rhetoric.
The text, titled "Message to a Rubio from the Thorn That Chokes Him", arises in response to statements that Rubio made to reporters in Florida, where he claimed that the Trump administration's preference is "always a negotiated and peaceful agreement" with Cuba, but acknowledged that the likelihood of achieving it "is not high, given who we are dealing with at the moment."
Rubio also described the Cuban system as irreparable: "It cannot be fixed with the current political system in place. They simply do not understand how to do it," and added that "at this moment, there simply don't seem to be any individuals in charge of the regime who are in any way open to any of those changes."
The Secretary of State also warned that Washington "means business" and will not wait for the regime "to get tired or buy time."
According to Carrasco's article, Rubio stated that they would take Raúl Castro to the United States to put him on trial, and when asked if there would be any announcement regarding this, he replied: "We will inform you later, not before."
Carrasco, head of the International Editorial Department of Juventud Rebelde, responds in a combative tone, accusing Rubio of having an "intriguing urgency for a war that destroys Cuba," while also labeling him a "shapeshifter of religions and political affiliations."
The columnist attributes the economic deterioration of the island solely to Washington's policies: "Their measures are what hinder economic development, what attempt to provoke desperation and the collapse of the country by cutting off our vital fuel, multiplying the blockade and its extraterritorial nature."
The article overlooks that the Cuban structural crisis is the result of 67 years of communist dictatorship and an economic model that has systematically failed, regardless of external sanctions.
Rubio's statements are part of a sustained escalation during May 2026. On the 14th of that month, Rubio described the situation in Cuba as "unacceptable" and referred to the island as a "failed state" located 90 miles from the U.S. coast.
On May 21, Rubio linked a potential Cuban collapse to a regional migration and security crisis, and stated that Cuba is a threat to national security that the U.S. will "focus 100% on."
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