The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, warned this Wednesday that the transformation of Cuba will be a long and difficult process, and delivered a direct message to the regime from the 81st General Assembly of the UN in New York: "More than 60 years of mismanagement, corruption, and incompetence cannot be reversed in six months."
The statements, gathered by the State Department on its social media, combined a devastating diagnosis of the Cuban system with a warning about the conditions that Washington demands for any opening.
Rubio was emphatic: "The Cuban Revolution has failed. It has failed for over 60 years and continues to be a failure today. I believe that even within the Cuban system itself, there is an acknowledgment that the Revolution has failed."
At the same time, the Secretary of State left open a window: "You have an opportunity to start putting your country on an irreversible trajectory toward progress and a better future. And that involves both political freedom and economic freedom, without a doubt."
In economic terms, Rubio explained why no company—neither American nor foreign—is willing to invest in Cuba under current conditions.
He pointed out two specific obstacles: the Helms-Burton Act, passed by Congress and currently in force, which imposes specific conditions for any business interaction between companies from the United States and the island; and the lack of legal certainty for investors from any country in the world.
To illustrate this second point, Rubio referred to a direct example: "Why would I invest ten million dollars in Cuba if two years later they decide on their own to change the rules, keep the money, and never give it back to me? And that has happened time and again in Cuba."
The Secretary of State also ruled out that the reforms recently announced by the regime—a package of 176 measures presented by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero in June—offer any real guarantees: “There is not enough legitimacy or credibility to believe that this regime will meet those conditions, because it has never done so in the past.”
And he was even more direct: "No one is going to invest in Cuba under its current model of government. They simply will not do it."
Rubio did highlight the potential of the Cuban diaspora—Cuban Americans and Cubans living in other parts of the world—to contribute to the future economic development of the island, as well as the role that companies from third countries could play in a free and open economy in Cuba.
These statements come a day after President Donald Trump referred to Cuba as an "absolutely failed state" before the General Assembly and predicted that the regime would "fall," prompting the Cuban delegation to leave the room in protest.
The chancellor Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla responded by labeling Trump's words as "falsehoods and slanders" and denied that there were any formal negotiations between Washington and Havana.
This Wednesday, Trump also formalized the appointment of Rubio as permanent National Security Advisor, a position he adds to that of Secretary of State, making him the most influential official in American foreign policy since Henry Kissinger.
The pressure from Washington on Havana has intensified throughout 2026, with sanctions imposed on more than 40 entities and at least 38 individuals linked to the Cuban military, energy, and financial sectors.
John Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, summarized it in August: "Trump and Rubio have launched the most effective sanctions program against a target country than any of their predecessors. We have been at this since 1994, and we have never seen anything like it."
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