Frustration with Donald Trump and Marco Rubio is growing among sectors of the Cuban exile community in South Florida, nine months after U.S. special forces captured Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, sparking hope for similar action against the Cuban dictatorship.
This is documented in a report by Kirk C. Nielsen in Florida Bulldog, published this Thursday, which uses Spanish radio in Miami as a barometer for the mood of the exile community just a few weeks before the legislative elections on November 3.
The operation on January 3rd —in which 32 Cuban soldiers guarding Maduro were killed— heightened expectations for an intervention in Cuba. Trump fueled these expectations eight days later with a threat on social media: “THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY FOR CUBA. ZERO. I strongly suggest that you reach an agreement BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.” In June, he struck again by proposing the possibility of a similar operation to the one carried out in Venezuela and indicating that Cuba was “a jump away”.
But nine months later, there has been no U.S. military intervention against Cuba.
The reasons for the stagnation are varied. According to research by The Atlantic, the secret conversations between Rubio and Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, alias "El Cangrejo" —grandson of Raúl Castro— were blocked when Washington demanded Díaz-Canel's departure as a non-negotiable condition.
This was further complicated by the administration's shift towards conflict with Iran, which strained available military resources. In September, Trump stated that he did not believe it was necessary to resort to military means and favored a negotiated agreement.
This discontent has been reflected in the Spanish-speaking radio stations in Miami —América Radio (1260 AM), La Nueva Poderosa (990 AM), and the program by Alberto Cutié—, which serve as a political forum for the exile community and reach tens of thousands of people via AM and digital transmission.
The report includes calls from listeners, mostly anonymous, as well as statements from hosts and congress members. These testimonies do not constitute a representative survey of the entire Cuban community in Miami.
Omar Moynelo, the midday host on La Nueva Poderosa, described the situation in August using a metaphor: "And she says: 'Now, yes, we're going to build something very beautiful.' But you no longer believe her because she left you and took a long time. This is happening to many people here."
A listener who sounded older due to his voice and spoke in an agitated manner was more direct: "December is going to catch us still in this nonsense! Nothing is going to happen! They’re not going to intervene militarily, they’re not going to do anything, especially not with the elections coming up. Two marines die and we lose the House and the Senate. They have no vision, no plan, and this is a disaster. It’s sad! It’s shameful!"
On the program Fuego Cruzado, from La Nueva Poderosa, another listener was even more blunt: "I won't vote for anyone else if Cuba is not free this year."
In response to that discontent, voices within the exile community are calling for calm. Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart has argued that any action must avoid civilian casualties. Cossío, from América Radio, cites the “patience and persistence” that Rubio himself championed in August as a reason to maintain confidence. Moynelo himself has come to Trump's defense in front of his most critical listeners.
The frustration with Cuba is compounded by the discontent over deportations: according to data reported in March by the U.S. government, nearly 6,000 Cubans had been sent to Mexico, while others were deported to African countries. Trump's immigration policies have also drawn criticism from Actualidad Radio.
Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar, a long-time ally of Trump, released a bilingual ad in September warning that the Hispanics who voted for him "now feel betrayed," and an internal poll commissioned by her Democratic rival shows her tied at 45% with him in Florida's 27th District.
Analyst Guillermo Grenier, from the Cuba Poll at Florida International University, warns that discontent could lead to abstention more than to Democratic votes—an electoral risk for Republicans on November 3—in a community where Trump reached 68% support among Cuban Americans in Miami-Dade, according to the 2024 Cuba Poll.
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