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The Republican congressman Carlos A. Giménez described the Cuban regime on Tuesday as a "cancer that has caused 65 years of suffering to its people" and demanded that Cuba become "a democratic friend and partner, not a threat to national security that harbors espionage stations for China and Russia."
In a message posted on his account on X accompanied by a video, Giménez warned that Washington will not tolerate what he described as the main threat to the United States in the hemisphere.
"There's a new sheriff in town. We are not going to play around with America's number one threat in the hemisphere, which is Cuba," he emphasized.
The legislator compared the situation in the Island to the cases of Manuel Noriega in Panama and Honduras, suggesting that the same could happen in Cuba: "Noriega was discovered in Panama. Honduras discovered it a couple of months ago. And I would expect that something similar might be happening in Cuba."
Giménez, the only member of Congress born in Cuba, emphasized that the current pressure provides the U.S. president with concrete tools to act: "It gives him options he can use to bring about the necessary change, not only for the Cuban people but also for the security of the United States."
The congressman concluded his message with a call to stay the course: "We just need to maintain the pressure, and hopefully, this regime will disappear, and finally, the Cuban people will have freedom and peace."
The statements are made in the context of a sustained escalation of the maximum pressure policy of the Trump administration against Cuba, which has accumulated more than 240 sanctions throughout 2026.
On May 1, Trump signed an executive order that expanded restrictions on strategic sectors such as energy, defense, mining, and finance, and included secondary sanctions against foreign third parties doing business with sanctioned Cuban entities.
On May 7, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced direct sanctions against GAESA, its CEO Ania Guillermina Lastres Morera, and Moa Nickel S.A.
The interception of at least seven tankers has reduced Cuba's fuel imports by 80% to 90%, exacerbating an energy crisis with blackouts lasting up to 20-25 hours a day.
The Economist Intelligence Unit projects a contraction of the Cuban GDP by 7.2% for 2026.
The argument of the threat to national security that Giménez puts forward is based on reports regarding Chinese intelligence facilities in Cuba.
A report from December 2024 identified facilities in Bejucal, Wajay, Calabazar, and El Salao, from which Beijing could monitor U.S. military exercises near Florida, including Naval Air Station Key West, Homestead Air Force Base, and Southern Command.
This is not the first time that Giménez has taken a strong stance on Cuba.
On May 15, he called for Raúl Castro to face justice for "countless crimes against humanity," and in February he described the dictatorship as "pathetic" and demanded that it be " relegated to the dustbin of history."
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