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The Cuban-American duo Los Pichy Boys sent a birthday message to Marco Rubio this Thursday filled with humor and political double entendre: “Happy Birthday, my friend! I think you should treat yourself to a Cuba Libre today, I don’t know, think about it”, they wrote on their official Facebook account, accompanying the greeting with a photo alongside the Secretary of State and a Cuban flag in the background.
Rubio is turning 55 years old this May 28th at a time of intense pressure from the Trump administration on the regime in Havana, which makes the nod from Los Pichy Boys more than just a simple birthday greeting.
The term "Cuba Libre" encapsulates in two words both the popular cocktail of rum with Coca-Cola and the historical aspiration of the Cuban diaspora: to see the island free from communism. Using this wordplay in a message to the official who had days earlier labeled the regime as “incompetent communists” accurately reflects the tone that characterizes the duo.
Los Pichy Boys —formed by Alejandro González (Alex) and Maikel Rodríguez (Maikito)— maintain a public and close relationship with Rubio that dates back to July 2021, when the then-senator welcomed them to the Capitol following the historic 11J protests and stated that "the Cubans marching were not asking for remittances, they were asking for freedom."
In April of this year, the duo had already publicly asked Cubans to trust Rubio, stating that "the freedom of Cuba is near."
The birthday arrives at a particularly tense moment for the Cuban regime. Since January 2026, the Trump administration has imposed more than 240 sanctions against Havana, intercepted at least seven tankers carrying fuel destined for the island, and caused an 80-90% drop in energy imports, resulting in blackouts of up to 25 hours in more than 55% of the territory.
Rubio himself, a day before his birthday, spoke out against the regime in a cabinet meeting at the White House: "The country has been taken over by this company called GAESA, which basically controls 70% of the economy. None of the money from that company is going to help the Cuban people. None."
Rubio celebrated his birthday early last Sunday at the United States Embassy in New Delhi, India, during an event for the 250th anniversary of American Independence, where the Village People sang "Happy Birthday" to him in front of a four-tiered cake, and Trump connected by phone from Washington to assert that he "will go down in history as the best Secretary of State in United States history."
The deadline set by Washington for foreign companies to sever ties with GAESA is June 5, 2026, making the coming days a crucial period for U.S. pressure on Cuba.
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