Donald Trump predicted this Tuesday at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York the end of the Cuban regime and confirmed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is conducting active negotiations with Havana, although without revealing details or timelines.
“Marco Rubio is conducting a negotiation. He is deeply involved in discussions with Cuba. We will see what happens,” said the president in his speech.
Trump described Cuba as an "absolutely failed state" and asserted that the regime "is failing like never before and will fall."
The Cuban delegation, led by Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, walked out of the plenary session in protest as the U.S. president spoke those words.
It was the first time that Trump made statements of that magnitude from the highest multilateral forum in the world, with the Cuban representatives present in the room.
"My administration is also seeking a fundamental change in the situation in Cuba, where the communist regime is under enormous pressure, the greatest it has ever faced," Trump stated before the gathered leaders in New York.
He also accused the Cuban regime of spending decades coordinating with "leftist radicals and communist networks" on U.S. soil, citing connections with the Communist Party of the United States, Antifa, and the Democratic Socialists of America.
These claims are based on a 100-page report from the State Department published on July 20, 2026, which accuses Cuba of nearly seven decades of espionage and subversion on U.S. soil.
The president concluded his message about the island with a promise: "Communism will never reach the United States, but freedom will reach Cuba, and security and stability will come to Mexico."
The statements come at the peak of bilateral pressure since the beginning of Trump's second term. Since January 2026, the administration has imposed numerous sanctions against Cuba, targeting financial, energy, mining, and military entities, including two rounds just in September.
In April 2026, reports indicated that a U.S. delegation, coordinated by Rubio, traveled to Havana with a set of demands that included the release of political prisoners. In May, Rubio himself acknowledged that "he did not see much progress" in the talks.
The Cuban side has maintained an ambiguous position. Rodríguez Parrilla admitted in early September that there are "conversations with the State Department", but categorically denied that there are any formal negotiations or agreements.
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