The Secretary of State Marco Rubio left open the possibility of collaborating with certain figures of the Cuban regime, but warned that this option has a clear limit.
The statements were made this Wednesday during a press conference in New York on the sidelines of the 81st General Assembly of the UN, and amid a week of intense U.S. diplomatic pressure on Havana.
"Obviously, there are individuals in that regime with whom we will never be able to work because their hands are stained with blood, but there are also people with whom I believe cooperation is possible, if they are willing to guide the country towards political and economic freedom," Rubio said.
The condition, therefore, is not only one of will but also of direction. Any regime figure seeking to engage with Washington must commit to a real transition, not to cosmetic adjustments.
Rubio's conditions to move forward with Cuba
Rubio did not submit a formal set of demands, but his statements allow us to identify several conditions that Washington expects to see in order to move forward with a negotiated process with Cuba, among which are:
- Substantial political changes: moving towards "political freedom" and initiating a transformation process that goes beyond cosmetic reforms.
- Economic opening: guiding the country towards "economic freedom," with greater opportunities for private initiative and ownership.
- A clear transition: to position Cuba on an "irreversible path" towards a different political and economic model.
- Guarantees for investment: implement the announced reforms and provide "certainty" that the rules will be respected and investments will be protected.
- Acceptable interlocutors: Washington could work with figures from the current apparatus who are willing to promote those changes, but not with those who have "blood on their hands."
Rubio also made it clear that Washington does not expect the entire transformation to happen immediately. "You can't reverse over sixty years of mismanagement, corruption, and incompetence in six months," he stated, while assuring that the United States is willing to contribute if Cuba begins that process.
The head of U.S. diplomacy also responded to the question of whether the U.S. could replicate in Cuba what happened in Venezuela —referring to the capture of Nicolás Maduro in January 2026— and whether the criminal charges against Raúl Castro could lead to a similar action.
Rubio did not rule out the use of force in general terms, but emphasized that it is not the preferred option for the Cuban situation. "Our preference is always to address these issues through negotiation, politically, without the use of military force," he said.
At the same time, he issued a warning: "If there is a threat to the national security of the United States, President Trump has both the power and the obligation to address it."
The Secretary of State insisted that Cuba has a historic opportunity that should not be wasted: "I am hopeful and I believe they will. I am not confident, but I am optimistic and we are ready to contribute."
Rubio acknowledged that there are no magical solutions to improve the Cuban economy. "You cannot reverse more than 60 years of mismanagement, corruption, and incompetence in six months," he warned.
In June 2026, the Secretary of State acknowledged before Congress that there are "technocrats" within the Cuban apparatus with whom Washington could collaborate for a transition, although without identifying specific names.
In that hearing, Cuban-American Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar mentioned Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro —known as "El Cangrejo," a colonel of MININT and grandson of Raúl Castro— as a possible generational interlocutor. Rubio neither confirmed nor denied that name.
The statements made this Wednesday come a day after President Trump described Cuba as a "completely failed state" at the General Assembly and predicted that the regime would "fall," remarks that prompted the Cuban delegation to leave the room in protest.
The chancellor Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla described Trump's words as "falsehoods and slanders" and denied the existence of formal negotiations between Washington and Havana, thus contradicting Trump's own assertion that Rubio was "deeply involved" in discussions with the Cuban government.
Filed under: