Carlos Gutiérrez, born in Havana and former Secretary of Commerce of the United States during the presidency of George W. Bush, supported Donald Trump's and Marco Rubio's strategy toward Cuba in an interview with Gloria Ordaz on Telemundo 51, although he warned that results will not be immediate.
"I believe they are being strategic. The change will be gradual," he told the media. The interview, broadcast on Wednesday night on the program Encuentro Virtual, comes at a time when the United States has expressed its intention to promote deep political changes in Cuba, but Donald Trump and Marco Rubio have indicated that they prefer a negotiated solution over military intervention.
In light of that situation, Gutiérrez argued: "We love to think that change will happen overnight, that everything will return to how it was before. We need to be realistic."
The former official, who left Cuba with his family in 1960 as a child, was emphatic in stating that pressure policies should not fall on the population: “I don't believe that we should continue punishing the people of Cuba.”
He also expressed concern that Cubans perceive their daily hardships—scarcity, blackouts, misery—as a punishment stemming from the struggle between Washington and the regime, rather than as a direct consequence of 67 years of dictatorship.
Regarding the priorities of a potential transition, Gutiérrez was clear: the first step should be for Cubans to be able to open their own businesses, betting on the private sector as the engine of change.
His stance contrasts with the disappointment expressed by Cuban exiles in Miami, who were hoping for an intervention similar to the one that led to Maduro's capture, and the lack of which has created a climate of frustration within the community.
Gutiérrez, who chairs the U.S.-Cuba Business Council and built his career without a college degree—from a salesman for Kellogg in Mexico to CEO of the company and then a member of Bush's cabinet—also spoke about Venezuela.
He described Maduro's capture as "incredible" and "fantastic," characterizing the operation as "a movie-like operation," but emphasized that the real test lies ahead: "Now the interesting part will be seeing the transition to elections, and that's where we will truly see if we move forward."
In economic matters, the former secretary considered that the tariff policy of the Trump administration needs to be corrected: "I believe that tariffs will have to be lowered." He also ventured an electoral prediction: "I think the Senate will go to the Democrats. We'll see."
Regarding Washington's decision to remove Jorge Rodríguez —president of the Venezuelan National Assembly and brother of the interim president Delcy Rodríguez— from the OFAC sanctions list, Gutiérrez provided his own interpretation: the measure would have been a response to negotiations between both governments. "You give me something, I give you something," he summarized. This is his personal interpretation; the terms of that potential exchange were not detailed.
The withdrawal of sanctions against Jorge Rodríguez took place on the same Wednesday, coinciding with the start of the third round of talks between the chavista government and opposition sectors in Caracas.
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