The statements made by President Donald Trump about Cuba during a Republican rally in Fort Myers, Florida, sparked a wave of ironic and skeptical comments among Cubans both on the island and abroad on Friday, as they interpreted the speech as mere electoral rhetoric just days before the midterm elections on November 3.
In the event, held to support the Republican candidate for governor of Florida, Byron Donalds, Trump reiterated that military ships would pass by the Cuban coast upon returning from operations in Iran.
«What we are going to do with Cuba is that we will return from Iran. Those beautiful ships will pass by Cuba. We will make one of them stop about 50 yards from the shore. They will raise their hands,» he said jokingly.
He also stated that he would leave Secretary of State Marco Rubio in charge of "closing the deal": "We don’t even have to stop. We can just leave it there and he will sort it out. He is a great guy."
The statements did not announce any approved military operation or formal agreement with Cuba, but they were enough to ignite social media with a chorus of disbelief.
Bla bla bla... the strategy is called NOVEMBER, wrote a user. Scheherezade Trump and the thousand and one nights, noted another. The phrase the story of the good pipe was repeated in dozens of comments, along with variations such as Aunt Tata tells stories and references to endless television series.
Kid, you've been saying that since January, recalled a third commentator on Facebook of CiberCuba, summarizing the fatigue of those who have been hearing similar promises for months without seeing any results.
The link between Trump's words and the electoral calendar was the common thread of most reactions. "He remembered Cuba just a few days before November began, what a coincidence," wrote a commentator.
“Ah, of course, the midterm elections are here, I almost forgot. Let’s get happy, Miami,” another person mocked. “He’s looking for votes, keeping us asleep,” declared a third voice.
Skepticism has also reached those who still believe in those promises. “The worst is that there are still some who believe them,” lamented a user.
"That's what we've been hearing since the capture of the other dictator Maduro, but they do nothing against this regime," wrote another person, summarizing the accumulated frustration. There were those who demanded action: "If you're going to do something, do it now. If not, stop giving false hope to the Cubans."
This episode is not the first. In May 2026, Trump first proposed sending the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier 100 yards off the Cuban coast after the operations in Iran. In September, he reiterated the idea during the "Shield of the Americas" summit in New York, and in July he stated that "many things are going to happen in Cuba" in two months. On each occasion, the Cuban response was one of increasing skepticism.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla responded this Saturday with a message on social media X: “We reject any threats regarding U.S. ambitions towards Cuba. Our shores have beautiful beaches, but also the dog tooth, inhospitable to those who come with hostile intentions and desires for domination.”
The electoral context partly explains the intensity of public rejection. The elections on November 3 will renew all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 positions in the Senate, and Florida is a key state.
Although Trump received 68% of the Cuban-American vote in 2024, that support faces tensions in 2026 due to the deportations of Cubans and the cost of living. The researcher Guillermo Grenier from Florida International University warned that the most likely effect would be higher Republican abstention, not a shift toward the Democrats.
Meanwhile, on the prison island, people do not even have food to eat, summed up a user, articulating what many are feeling: that the debate over boats and promises takes place while Cuba remains mired in blackouts, shortages, and crisis.
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