The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, stated this Tuesday that Cuba will be on an "irreversible path towards a very different future" before the end of the Trump administration, although he cautioned that this change will not happen immediately.
The statements were made in the 51st episode of the "Katie Miller Pod" podcast, recorded at the Department of State alongside his wife Jeanette.
"You can't have something in place for 70 years, taking root, and think that overnight you will tear everything out and put something new in the ground. There is a transition that has to occur and a process to get there," stated the Secretary of State.
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 countries in Eastern Europe 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 for reasons of national interest, not just because of his personal ties 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 national interest to have a safe, 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 regime in Havana, 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 conveyed days earlier. On August 7, he revealed in an interview with Axios the strategy of "closing every escape mechanism" of the Cuban government, and on the same day he set the goal for Cuba to be on an "irreversible trajectory" by the end of the term.
Since January 2026, the Trump administration has executed more than two dozen actions against the Cuban regime, with 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 lasting three to five years suggests that the administration is managing medium-term expectations rather than expecting an 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 goal to Venezuela: that both countries be "safe, stable, and aligned with the U.S."
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