Two activists interrupted the entry of Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, shouting slogans against him as he crossed the doorway into the room full of attendees.
The incident was captured in a video shared on the social media platform X by journalist Eric Daugherty, who described the scene as Rubio entering "a crowded hearing" where a protester "immediately began to shout."
One of the activists, described as a man dressed in pink —possibly a member of the pro-Castro organization Code Pink—, shouted the following slogans: “Marco Rubio, stop killing Cubans”, “repent, repent Marco Rubio” and “God will forgive your sins”.
The statements, identified as characteristic of sectors sympathetic to the Cuban regime or the American left, accused Rubio of being responsible for the deaths of Cubans, seemingly referring to the sanctions and pressures that the Trump administration has exerted on the island.
Typical of the regime's propaganda and the indoctrination of its supporters, the accusations that Marco Rubio "kills Cubans" invert the reality of a tragedy for which the main and sole responsible party is the Cuban regime.
For more than six decades, the economic policies and state control model imposed by the Communist Party have led to the progressive collapse of national production, infrastructure, the electrical system, public services, and the healthcare system, resulting in a crisis that directly affects the quality of life and the life expectancy of millions of citizens.
Similarly, the lack of freedoms, opportunities, and future prospects has driven several generations of Cubans to emigrate en masse, often risking their lives in the Florida Strait, the jungles of Central America, or the migration routes to the United States.
The deaths, suffering, and exodus that have marked Cuba's recent history are the result of decisions made by the ruling elite of the island, not by those who denounce the country's situation internationally or advocate for measures of pressure against its leaders.
Daugherty, who posted the video, labeled the protesters as "left-wing demonstrators" and demanded that they be expelled and banned from the Capitol.
The hearing this Tuesday was convened to review the budget request from the Department of State for fiscal year 2027 and marked Rubio's first appearance before that committee since the onset of the conflict with Iran, granting him a particularly high political profile.
Rubio, of Cuban origin and the son of immigrants from the island, has held the position of Secretary of State since January 2025 and is the first Hispanic to serve in this role. Since his appointment, he has maintained a policy of maximum pressure against the regime in Havana.
In the weeks leading up to the incident, Rubio intensified his rhetoric against the regime. On May 21, he labeled Cuba as a "failed state" and stated that the current system "cannot be fixed" without profound changes.
On May 20, a message was published in Spanish addressed to the Cuban people, offering a "new relationship" on behalf of President Donald Trump and holding the Cuban leadership accountable for the hardships on the island.
On May 14, he declared on NBC that what is happening in Cuba is "unacceptable" and a threat to the United States, and on May 5, he described the Cuban regime as "incompetent communists."
This kind of disruption in congressional hearings by activists has occurred in other recent contexts, such as the appearance of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Daugherty summed up the episode with a phrase that circulated widely among his followers: "Rubio thrives by angering the communists."
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