A group gathered in a meeting room at the White House sang " Happy Birthday " to Secretary of State Marco Rubio this Thursday, in celebration of his 55th birthday.
The moment was captured in a video posted on X by Margo Martin, Deputy Director of Communications at the White House, with the message "Happy Birthday, Secretary Marco Rubio!".
However, Rubio himself did not share the video of the celebration on his official account.
Only published images from the cabinet meeting held the day before, chaired by Donald Trump, where he referred to the Cuban government as "incompetent communists" and noted that GAESA controls 70% of the island's economy without those resources benefiting the people.
The birthday celebration overflowed the walls of the White House.
The spokesperson Karoline Leavitt congratulated him on X with the words: "Happy birthday to our extraordinary Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, and my dear friend."
The State Department also published a music video on its official account, which gathered over 331,000 views and 21,193 likes.
The Cuban-American congress members joined in the messages. Representative María Elvira Salazar wrote: "Miami is proud to call you one of our own. You are the best Secretary of State this country has had in generations."
His colleague Carlos A. Giménez added, "America is stronger thanks to your service."
From Havana, the United States Embassy in Cuba asked Cubans what message they would send to the Secretary of State, igniting an avalanche of comments from the island. One of the most shared was from Arley Barceló: “Congratulations, it’s your birthday, but give us a free Cuba on your day and that way we will all celebrate as Cubans.”
The birthday arrived at a time of peak pressure on the Cuban regime.
The Trump administration has imposed more than 240 sanctions against Havana since January 2026, and the deadline for foreign companies to sever ties with GAESA is approaching on June 5th.
It was not the first celebration of the week.
On the previous Sunday, in New Delhi, the Village People performed "Happy Birthday" in front of a four-tier cake during an event celebrating the 250th anniversary of U.S. Independence. Trump connected via phone from Washington and stated that Rubio "will go down in history as the best Secretary of State of the United States."
Rubio, son of Cuban immigrants who arrived in the United States in 1956, was confirmed as Secretary of State on January 20, 2025, with a vote of 99-0 in the Senate, becoming the first Hispanic to hold that position.
In the cabinet meeting on Thursday, Rubio also kept the door open for dialogue with Havana: "We will talk to them, we will work on it; we want something good for the Cuban people, and hopefully, there will be a positive outcome for them."
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