The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, assured this Tuesday that Cuba will be on an "irreversible path towards a very different future" before the end of the Trump administration, though he cautioned that this change will not come immediately.
The statements were made in episode 51 of the podcast "Katie Miller Pod", recorded at the Department of State alongside his wife Jeanette.
"You can't have something in place for 70 years, that takes root, and think that overnight you're going to pull it all out and put something new in the ground. There is a transition that has to occur and a process to get there," the Secretary of State said.
To illustrate his point, Rubio referred to the recent history of Eastern Europe as a reference. "Eastern Europe is instructive in that sense. It took Eastern European countries between three and five years to truly become what we know them as today. Poland is probably the best example," he noted.
The head of U.S. diplomacy emphasized that Cuba is a priority for the Trump administration due to national interests, not just because of his personal connection to the island.
"I work for the United States. I care about Cuba. Obviously, I have a personal connection to it, but I do not work for Cuba. I work for the United States, and I believe it is in our country's national interest to have a secure, stable Cuba aligned with the U.S.," he stated.
Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants who arrived in the United States in 1956, has historically been one of the most critical voices against the Havana regime, a stance he has maintained since he took office as Secretary of State.
The statements from the podcast reinforce the message that Rubio had already communicated days earlier. On August 7, he revealed in an interview with Axios the strategy to “close every escape mechanism” of the Cuban government, and on the same day set a goal that Cuba would be on an “irreversible trajectory” by the end of the term.
Since January 2026, the Trump administration has taken more than two dozen actions against the Cuban regime, including sanctions on over 40 entities and at least 38 individuals linked to organizations such as GAESA and CUPET.
In July, Rubio had already denied that Washington was following a public timeline for a regime change, although he expressed hope that it would happen "tomorrow." The reference to Poland as a model for a transition over three to five years suggests that the administration is managing medium-term expectations, rather than aiming for immediate impact.
"It is certainly a priority for us because it is in our national interest. I never guarantee anything, but it is certainly a priority," Rubio concluded, extending the same objective to Venezuela: that both countries be "secure, stable, and aligned with the U.S."
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